Fairy Tail: True Light (Revised Edition)
by Elise Lowing
Summary: Several years after the defeat of Acnologia and Zeref's army, Natsu and Lucy have married and now have a daughter; Alu Dragneel. Alu has both parents' Magic Powers, but also suffers a Magic Deficiency. When she sets out to repair Aquarius's Key, she learns of an evil plot that threatens her father's life, and all of Fairy Tail. Can Alu find the power to save her family and guild?
1. Chapter 1: A New Beginning

**Fairy Tail**

 **True Light**

 **Well, I've been following this manga/anime for a while and once again the gears in my head began to turn. And what I came up with was something that I usually don't do.** **Usually when I do a fan fiction I try to stick with the official main characters and their lives, only inserting my own fan characters as part of their friendship circle.**

 **However, this story took a different turn than I expected. I thought about it for a while and I decided to take a whack at it. So this story is kind of an exercise to help broaden my writing talents and such.**

 **I will say now that there is going to be some harsh language, but I refuse to use the inappropriate swear words (I'm not going to drop the f-bomb or things like that). I also will not go into any adult content. I'm going to keep this as PG-13 as possible.**

 **This story is going to take place several years in the future. Although I don't know how the canon series of Fairy Tail will end, I'm just going to assume that it ends with everyone defeating Achnologia and Zeref's army.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; I am merely exploring a possible story.**

 **With that said, let's begin.**

* * *

 ** _"Breaking the dark of night, piercing through the painted white. Cut it all away from yesterday 'till a new era's in sight. Unlock the heart within, let it spread its wings and soar. Rising up in flight, through the night of white, and fly on forever more"_**

 ** _~True Light (English Version)_**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **A New Beginning**

 _In the magical land of Fiore, there stands a strong and infamous wizard guild known as Fairy Tail. Many of the nation's strongest wizards reside in this guild, and the family of Fairy Tail continues to grow._

 _It is now that a new generation of Fairy Tail wizards begins to rise._

* * *

On a clear, sunny day, in the port town of Hargeon, a teenaged girl was walking down through the streets. She wore an olive green, loose fitting jacket with the hood up over her head, concealing her hair and the upper part of her face. The jacket reached down to her calves, hiding her cloths underneath. On her feet, she wore pair of sandals that had red straps and black bottoms.

The girl looked down at the piece of paper she was carrying in her right hand. It was a job request to catch some deranged convict who has been setting fire to houses at random. At the bottom on bold print, it said that the reward for the capture was 200,000 Jewel.

"Well," the girl smirked, "if fire is involved, then this will be no problem for me."

She turned to look at the clock tower to see what time it was. Her grin turned into a concerned frown when she saw that it was fifteen minutes past noon.

"I better hurry," she mumbled. "Gotta get back to the guild before I'm missed."

At that moment, the girl heard the sound of an explosion that was immediately followed by frantic screams and shouts. She looked over in the direction it came from and saw a pillar of smoke billowing up into the blue sky above the rooftops of the city.

Her confident grin returned to her face.

"Looks like I found my target."

Without a moment of hesitation, the girl set off running as fast as she could through the streets of Hargeon. As she did, she passed by screaming citizens who were racing for dear life in the opposite direction.

As she ran by a man and a woman, she heard something that made her stop for a brief moment.

"Did that guy say he was Salamander!?"

"Yeah, but I never thought one of Fairy Tail's S-Class wizards would go rogue like this!"

The girl's dark eyes briefly appeared from under the shadow of her hood. They had a kind of wild look to them, and they glinted with suspicion.

"Salamander?" her whisper bordered on a menacing growl.

Gritting her teeth and narrowing her eyes, the girl set out in a dead sprint until she came upon a burning building that looked as if it was once a Magic shop.

Standing in the middle of the wreckage and amongst the flames, laughing maniacally was a man with spiky pink hair.

The girl scowled when she saw him.

"Are you the one who claims to be Salamander?!" she shouted and pointed a finger at him.

The man in the flames turned to see the girl and grinned wickedly.

"That's right!" he sneered. "And who are you suppose to be?!"

"Prove it!" the girl replied snappishly. "C'mon, I dare ya!"

"Huh, cocky little brat, aren't ya?! Okay, but you're going to regret it!"

The girl stood her ground as the man before her took a deep breath before shouting.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

A funnel of flames shot from the man's mouth and enveloped the girl in a blaze of destruction. The man only smirked for a moment before he was met with a shocking revelation.

Although the fire was burning bright, he could just make out the girl's silhouette standing in the middle of it. She wasn't writhing in pain or screaming in agony either. She was just standing there.

And…was she yawning?

"Ugh!" she said tauntingly, and loud enough so that he could hear her. "I knew something about you was off! Not only do you smell wrong, but your flames taste awful!"

The girl opened her mouth wide and the fire that surrounded her began to flow right into it.

Once she had consumed all the flames, she stood up tall and wiped her chin.

"Still," she smirked cockily, "thanks for the grub."

The man in front of her was dumbstruck by this.

"Who ARE you?!" he demanded.

The girl looked at the man in front of her and scowled viciously.

"You don't know who I am?" she said in a low voice.

The girl then threw off her jacket to reveal her identity.

She had on a deep purple vest with gold trimming. Underneath it was a light grey sleeveless shirt that went up to her collarbone. She had on loose, tannish pants that went down to the middle of her calves, and around her waist was a purple skirt-like cloth with gold trimming that went down to her knees, and was opened in the middle.

Her skin was a peachy beige color, her eyes were dark, piercing green, and her short, spiky hair was sakura pink.

On the upper part of her right arm was an emerald green marking that looked like a tattoo of a fairy skipping.

"My name is Alu, I'm a Fairy Tail wizard!" she declared angrily. "But if you were really Salamander then you'd know my name already! You're just an imposter!"

"What?!" the man was taken aback.

"And that stuff you call "Dragon Slayer Magic" is pathetic!" Alu raged, "You insult the real Salamander! And I'm not going to let you dirty his good name!"

Alu slammed the palms of her hands together and streams of pale fire began to swirl around her. She then spread her arms out like wings and leapt high up into the air. Balls of fire emanated from her hands as she curled them up into fists.

With a flip and a swing of her arms, she shouted at the top of her voice,

"FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!"

Flames streamed out from her hands and crisscrossed down towards the Salamander imposter. He leapt out of the way and back flipped out of the burning building, landing outside of the wreckage.

Alu gracefully landed back down onto the road and looked up with a grin.

"Why didn't you eat my flames?!" she jeered. "If you were really Salamander you would've greedily gobbled them up! Another proof that you're a fake!"

"SHUT UP!" the man bellowed.

In a whirl of white light, the man changed his physical form. Now he had straight, onyx-black hair, grey eyes, and he was dressed in some kind of weird crimson robe that left only one of his right arm bare.

"Transformation Magic, eh?!" Alu sneered. "You really think you can beat me with that?!"

Suddenly, a black rope shot from the man's hand and began to wrap itself around Alu. Although she was late to respond with an escape, she managed to raise her right arm in time as the rope pinned her left arm to her torso. She grimaced and squirmed as the rope tightened around her.

"Try getting out of this one, brat!" the man shouted, his voice now a very different tone than his previous one. "This rope is resistant against any fire attack!"

Alu just gave a impish grin.

"Really?!" she said, gritting her teeth. "Well guess what; Dragon Slayer Magic isn't all I've got up my sleeve!"

With a swift flash of her hand, Alu grabbed something from off her belt underneath her vest and held it high above her head. It was a curiously shaped golden key that looked like it had some kind of crab-claw motif.

"OPEN, GATE THE GIANT CRAB!" Alu commanded. "CANCER!"

Out of a blue and gold magic circle, a Celestial Spirit in the form of a man came through. His skin was tanned and he wore a striped blue shirt with black pants and shoes. He also had on a pair of green shades, which concealed his eyes. On his back were six crab legs on his back, and he had a pair of scissors in each hand.

"What's up, baby?" he said in a cool, collected voice that reminded Alu of chocolate. "You need me to style up that hair of yours?"

"Eh, maybe later, Cancer." Alu frowned awkwardly. "Right now, I need you to get me out of this."

"Wait!" the man who had Alu caught exclaimed in shock. "You're a Celestial Wizard, too?!"

"Yeah, you better believe it!" Alu shouted with a confident smirk, remembering she was still in the middle of a fight.

Cancer leapt into action. In less than a second, moving so quickly that no one could see him clearly, he had cut the rope that was binding Alu to pieces. The release of tension caused the enemy wizard to stumble back a bit.

"Thanks a million, Cancer." Alu said to the Celestial Spirit, winking. "I can take it from here."

"No prob, baby." Cancer replied before disappearing in a glitter of golden light.

Alu turned back to the wizard in front of her and called forth some flames to the bottom of her feet. Each of them burned intensely, but her skin and sandals were left unscathed. Alu then rushed forward with a battle cry and kicked her right leg out.

"FIRE DRAGON TALON!"

Before the wizard in front of her had time to react, Alu's foot made contact with the center of his chest. He let out a sharp gasp of pain and flew backwards straight into the wall of a nearby building.

"Ha!" Alu scoffed. "That's what you get when you mess with a Fairy Tail wizard. Especially one that's - UGH!"

Alu didn't get to finish her sentence because at that moment she felt all of her energy drain from her at once. The pale fire around her feet flicked for only a moment before extinguishing completely. She fell to her knees and panted for air. Sweat began to drip down her face and her limbs felt shaky.

 _"No, not now!"_ she thought desperately to herself. _"I can't be out of Magic now!"_

To make matters even worse, the wizard criminal emerged out of the clouds of dust and rubble like some kind of nightmare. He had a very nasty smile on his face that was only accented by a horrible cut on his chin. When he saw Alu down, he let out a maniacal laugh that sent shivers down her spine. He then began to walk over towards her. Alu tried to get up and move, but her legs were so weak that she ended up stumbling before falling over on her right side. Although she was scared, she hid her fear behind her scowl.

"Did you honestly think that rope was just merely for knotting people up like pretzels?" the criminal wizard said jeeringly. "From the time it was on you, it was slowly sapping away your magic power. Not that there was much to take."

The wizard reached Alu and shot a hand out, grabbing her by her hair. She let out a painful scream as he hoisted her up to his face. She curved in pain and discomfort, wrinkling her nose at the smell of his horrible breath.

"I know you now," he sneered. "You're Fairy Tail's Weak Link."

"I'M NOT A WEAK LINK!" Alu protested fervently, kicking her legs with what little strength her body had. "I'M A CELESTIAL WIZARD AND DRAGON SLAYER! PUT ME DOWN OR YOU'LL BE SORRY!"

The man ignored her and continued to gloat.

"It's a shame," he said in a dark, mocking tone. "You're the daughter of two S-Class wizards of Fairy Tail, yet your strength pales in comparison to theirs. How misfortunate they were to produce such a weak offspring like you."

Before the wicked man could continue, something happened that changed the situation completely.

There was the sound of water being sucked into a tube. Both Alu and the wizard holding her captive suddenly remembered the burning house just beside them and looked over to see what was going on.

The fire was rapidly growing smaller. Streams of it were all being absorbed by something that was standing in the middle of the rubble. When the flames had died a little more, they could both see that it was a man in a one-sleeved dark blue coat with a long cloth trimmed with gold around his waist, loose-fitting pants, and black sandels.

They also realized that he was eating the flames.

Alu's eyes widened in shock and she inhaled sharply. She who this person was. There was no mistaking that scaly white scarf, the spiky sakura-colored hair, and the red Fairy Tail guild mark on his exposed right arm. Not to mention, his scent of burning mahogany embers was more than enough to confirm it.

It was Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail. The real Salamander.

Once Natsu was finished devouring the flames, stripping the building clean of any fire, he stood up and looked at the enemy wizard with an angry glint in his onyx-colored eyes.

"You let her go right now!" he demanded in a strong, deep voice.

The wizard holding Alu by her hair turned pale and quickly let her go. Alu fell to the ground and winced as the impact shot pain up her back. She only took a second to nurse the ache on her rump before looking back up at what was happening in front of her.

Natsu began walking toward the wizard who had just released her. He was scowling so hard that Alu could see the veins popping out of his face. His fists were curled up so tight that the knucklebones underneath were visible, and strong orange fire was quickly forming around them.

"Trying to impersonate me is one thing, you punk!" Natsu growled. "But harming and mocking a member of my guild is unforgivable! Especially her!"

The enemy wizard stammered as he backed away from Natsu. He was so terrified of the Dragon Slayer that his mouth was unable to form any words. He tried sending out the same black ropes that he had used on Alu before, but Natsu kept walking forward, cutting them away with his fire like they were just little flies.

Alu gave a nervous grin. This wizard had every right to be afraid of Natsu. After all, he wasn't an S-Class Wizard of Fairy Tail for nothing.

"This guy is toast." Alu mumbled.

At that moment, Natsu's fist flared up with even more Dragon Slayer fire.

"But thanks to your little arson crime," he snarled viciously at the enemy, "I've got a fire in my belly that's raging to get out!"

Before anyone could blink, Natsu darted forward with incredible speed.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" he bellowed.

The flames around Natsu's hands lit up with an honest and powerful red glow, and he swung his right fist right under the enemy wizard's chin. The uppercut sent the man flying high over the rooftops of the buildings. He sailed straight over the city and hit the city bell, which let out a resounding "GONG". This knocked him out cold and he fell down to the marble floor underneath the bell.

With the threat nullified, Natsu loosened his shoulders and grunted. He then turned around sharply to look at the girl behind him. When he saw her, his appearance softened, but only just a little bit. The blood vessels that were visible before had vanished from his face, and his eyes became less narrowed. Still, he was looking at the young wizard with a stern expression.

Alu looked up at Natsu and shrunk back. Her eyes were filled with concealed worry, and her cheeks were red with embarrassment.

She could tell by the look on his face that she was in trouble. Deep trouble.

"Alu Layla Dragneel." Natsu said firmly. "What've you got to say for yourself this time?"

Alu lowered her gaze and grumbled miserably, "Thanks for the save…Dad."


	2. Chapter 2: Enter Alu Dragneel

**Chapter 2**

 **Enter Alu Dragneel**

About half an hour later, Alu was sitting on the seat in a train, looking sourly out the window at the landscape rushing by. Beside her was a little blue cat, better known as an Exceed. His name was Happy. At the moment, he was greedily eating a piece of fish.

He also had a rather smug expression on his face. Whether it was from the fish he was eating, or at the amusement that Alu had been caught; Alu couldn't tell which.

But if it was the latter, then that cat was going to be drop-kicked into the next city by her.

Natsu was sitting in the seat across from his daughter. Normally, he would've been hunched and clutching his stomach, moaning in discomfort. Being a Dragon Slayer, Natsu was particularly vulnerable to motion sickness. However, thanks to a special kind of pill he had just popped into his mouth before they had pulled out of the train station, he was sitting up and looking up his daughter with a serious face.

 _"_ _Curse those Troia pills."_ Alu thought to herself, frowning. _"I think I liked it better when he was keeled over and complaining about his tummy hating him. At least he wouldn't be lecturing me."_

"Alu," Natsu said to his daughter in a low voice, "I think you know why I was in Hargeon, don't you?"

Alu didn't give a verbal answer. She just cast a brief glare at her father before looking back out the window.

"Alu, look at me." Natsu raised his voice a bit.

Grudgingly, Alu obeyed. Her irritated eyes looked directly into her father's stern ones. It almost felt like she was looking at an older and more masculine mirror image of herself.

"You know why I was really in Hargeon." Natsu repeated. That statement wasn't a question.

"Who blabbed?" Alu asked, a growl slipping in to her tone. "Was it Ur?"

"That's not important." Natsu narrowed his eyes.

"It was her, wasn't it?!" Alu snapped, punching her right fist into her right hand. "Next time I see her I'll knock her teeth in!"

"Geez," the little blue cat beside her drawled, "the way you and Ur fight, you'd think Natsu and Gray had swapped genders or something."

"Watch it, cat!" Alu snarled, scowling at the little blue cat next to her. "I'm close enough to knock you to the ground!"

"Alu!" Nastu raised his voice harshly. "Why did you go on a solo job?!"

Alu shut her mouth and glowered at father. She leaned back in her seat with discomfort. She still kept a fearless expression, but nervous sweat was beginning to form on her left temple. She could tell by the way her father fists were clenched that he was doing all he could to prevent himself from lashing out at her.

Catching his temper, Natsu took a deep breath to calm himself down. As frustrated as he was, he also knew that he would get nowhere with his daughter if he yelled at her. He would just get her more aggravated, and the two would just have an argument that would get them nowhere. Not to mention, he knew that he would also get caught up in the heat of the moment.

 _"_ _Man, this was so much harder than arguing with Gray or Erza,"_ he thought to himself.

He then looked back up at Alu.

"You know you're not allowed on solo missions yet," he simply stated.

"Or sure." Alu replied bitterly. "But everyone else my age is allowed."

"But I'm not talking about them, I'm talking about you." Natsu said. "Whenever you take a solo job, it's always a dangerous one. Did you even know that wizard you fought today used to be part of a Dark Guild?"

"No." Alu admitted with disdain. She sounded like she didn't care about the details. "But I was able to expose him as a fake, wasn't I? If it wasn't for me, he would've ruined your good name."

Natsu narrowed his eyes a bit. He knew what his daughter was trying to do.

"You're dodging the point, Alu," he said. "He could've killed you. And he probably would have if Happy and I didn't show up."

"Yeah," Happy said snobbishly, "if it wasn't for the two of us, you wouldn't even be here now."

"I don't recall seeing you jumping into the fray." Alu glared, staring the annoying Exceed down. "Dad was the one who did everything."

"But I was the one who found you!" Happy said indigently. "Tell her, Natsu! I flew you all over the city until we found her!"

Natsu didn't answer. Instead he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"You really aren't going to talk to me, are you?" he asked his daughter.

Alu looked away and grimaced. That was enough to tell Natsu what her answer was. If he tried to force an answer out of her, she was just going to get even angrier. And the train really wasn't best place to start a fight.

Natsu let out a deep exhale and leaned back in his seat. He then turned his head to look out the window.

"I think you should know that your mom isn't too happy about your little stunt either," he warned. "When Happy and I left, she was fit to be tied. And of course, Erza was pretty mad, too. I'll bet she's going to give you an earful when we get back."

Alu shot an annoyed expression at her father and gritted her teeth.

"When is that pill's effects going wear off?" she asked spitefully.

"Not until after we get to Magnolia," Natsu answered, grinning. "You can thank Wendy for that."

Alu let out an irritated grunt and leaned back in her seat. She then turned her head to looked out the window again. By now, she was starting to get a bit of a headache from the rumbling of the train. Since she was only half-Dragon Slayer, she was a more immune to motion sickness than other Dragon Slayers. Still, it gave her a headache whenever she had to endure it for too long. She found that the best way to ease the discomfort was by just being quiet and looking out of a window.

As Alu stared out over the dandelion-yellow drenched landscape rushing by, her expression changed from annoyed to a kind of hidden upset. She was really hoping that she could complete that job on her own. If she had returned to the guild with this solo accomplishment, then maybe everyone at Fairy Tail would…

Oh, what did it matter? She was caught. And worse, she didn't complete the job. Instead, she was almost killed by the enemy, and she had to be rescued by her father…again.

Unfortunately, Alu's pride and frustration kept her from admitting all this out loud.

Either way, she was in trouble. She was in no hurry to get back to the Fairy Tail guild. She knew from past experience that a hurricane of a lecture was waiting for her when she got back.

And she had a feeling that this time it was going to be worse than the last one.

* * *

 _An hour later…_

"What were you thinking, Alu?!" a blonde hair woman named Lucy scolded. "This is the fourth time this month! Why do you always pull these stunts?! Did you know that your father and I were worried sick about you?!"

"Your mother's right, Alu," another woman with red hair named Erza said strictly. "Why do you always insist on these little shenanigans of yours? What have you got to say for yourself?"

Alu just bit her lips, tensed her whole body, and glared down at the floor, trying to ignore the piercing feeling she was getting from the harsh eyes of her mother and Fairy Tail's Titania.

Natsu and Happy were standing just a few feet away, watching the whole situation and keeping quiet. Natsu knew from past experience that it was his wife's turn to lecture their daughter, and that he should stay out of it unless he was asked to help.

"Alu, look at me!" Lucy said harshly, grabbing Alu's chin and forcing her to lift her face. "This has got to stop! Your dad and I can't keep chasing after you like this!"

"I didn't ask for any help!" Alu snarled with irritation, pushing her mother's hand away. "And I don't see why I should be the only one who has to stay on team jobs! Everyone else gets to have solo jobs! I'm not a child anymore!"

"But you most certainly are behaving like one." Erza rebuked. "And even through the Master isn't here, this cannot go unpunished. You are absolutely forbidden to take a job of any kind for the next two weeks."

"Two weeks?!" Alu shrieked. "That's so not fair!"

"That's what you get for breaking rules." Erza narrowed her eyes.

"Why don't you just come out and say it, Erza?! You think I'm not good enough!" Alu accused, her voice just bursting with rage. "I know that's what everyone thinks! You think I'm too weak and useless to Fairy Tail! Admit it! You think I'm just some…some pathetic Weak Link!"

No one else noticed this, but the moment the last part escaped Alu's mouth, Natsu looked up at his daughter with alertness. It was now that he noticed something about her eyes. They were blazing with fury and...

Wait, what was forming in her eyes?

"That's enough, Alu!" Erza ordered, raising her voice. "Show some respect for your elders! I should warn you that if you should take any jobs during your restriction, then I will be forced to suspend you from the guild! Do you understand?!"

Alu's whole body was tense with a burning anger that she couldn't contain. Her scowl deepened and she gritted her teeth so hard that she felt like they were going to break.

Most people would've been afraid to talk back to the great and mighty Erza, the strongest female wizard in all of Fairy Tail. After all, she wasn't called Titania for nothing. Anyone who so much as yelled at her would soon regret it afterwards. She would have them face-down in the dirt in just one second.

However, Alu wasn't afraid of Erza. She had no problem talking back to anybody. Especially now that she was at her breaking point on her temper.

"FINE!" she screamed. "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK! I DON'T CARE AT ALL!"

Alu then turned and ran towards the entrance of the guild.

"Alu!" Natsu called out.

"Alu, you get back here right now and apologize!" Lucy ordered.

Alu ignored her parents and kept running. As the door opened, she bolted out. At that moment, Gray and his son, Ash, came walking in. Both of them stepped back as the girl nearly ran them over.

When the teenaged boy saw his pink-haired friend, a brief smile came across his face.

"Hey, Alu-"

Alu didn't stop. She didn't even notice Ash. She just rushed right past the boy and out into the city of Magnolia. For a moment, Gray and Ash stopped and looked out in the direction she headed.

"Whoa, what's up with her?" Gray asked.

"ALU!"

Gray and Ash turned back around to see Lucy running up to them. When she reached the entrance, she stopped and turned to Gray and with a look of ferocity in her eyes.

"Gray, why didn't you stop her?!" she shouted in his face.

"What are you yelling at me for?!" Gray shot back, stepping back a bit. "I only just got here!"

Before Lucy could reply, Ash quickly stepped in.

"Sorry, Lucy," he said calmly, "We didn't know Alu would be rushing out. Believe me, would've stopped her if we did. But she just zipped by us too fast."

Lucy only looked down at Ash for a brief moment before letting out exasperated sigh and bringing a hand up to her head. The frustration she had seconds ago seemed to slowly fade away. While she still had a hint of it left, she had at least managed to calm herself to think more clearly.

"I know, I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I didn't mean to snap. It's just…"

"Let me guess," Gray frowned, crossing his arms over his chest, "Alu took another solo job without permission."

"That's not really any of your business, Gray." Natsu replied with a stern glare as he walked up to the group with Happy following close behind him.

"But I'm right, aren't I, Natsu?" Gray narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Not that I'm surprised. After all, she is the spitting image her father. It's only expected that she also inherited his bad habits. The apple doesn't fall from the tree, huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Natsu snapped.

"Just what you think it does, Pyro Breath." Gray replied coolly.

"If you got something say to me, Freezer Burn, then say it to my face!"

Ash stepped back as his father and Alu's father began to look as if they were going to brawl again. This wasn't unusual for them, but Ash knew from the past that the scuffles between these two tended to get a little too out of control and violent.

Being the peace-keeper that Ash was, he stepped in again to break it up.

"Well," he said quickly, "I wouldn't say that taking solo missions is a bad habit. Alu just likes a challenge. You know, a chance to hone her skills."

That got Natsu and Gray's attention off of each other. They, along with Lucy, turned to the teenaged boy and looked at him with unconvinced expressions. Ash glanced away awkwardly, knowing that they saw right through his explanation. Not that he brought up a convincing argument in the first place.

Erza confirmed his theory when she walked up to the group and said, "There's challenge, and then there's putting yourself in needless danger. I'm sure you know that, Ash. Alu may have good intentions, but I'm afraid she lacks common sense. She simply isn't strong enough to take on solo jobs."

Natsu frowned when Erza said that and immediately dropped the tension in his shoulders.

"It's a shame though." Gray admitted, sounding sympathetically disappointed. "After all, not many wizards are born with two specific kinds of Magic. That must've taken a toll on her Magical strength."

"Well, Mom told us she was born with Water Magic." Ash pointed out. "And she's just as strong as you, Dad. I mean, she is an S-Class wizard like the rest of you."

"Well, yeah," Gray answered, "but Juvia was born with only one kind of Magic Power. Alu was born with Celestial Magic and Dragon Slayer Magic. And considering Dragon Slayer Magic is a Lost Magic…"

Gray's voice trailed off. He was unsure of how to finish that sentence. It kind of spoke for itself, with or without an ending.

"Yes," Erza nodded grimly, "that is true. I know Alu wants to become a strong wizard, and she does have a lot of ambition. But at this point…well, we must be honest: her Magic Deficiency puts her only at half-strength."

Natsu tightened his fists at that remark.

"Don't forget that's my daughter you're talking about," he said in a low tone.

Everyone turned to look at the Dragon Slayer wizard. Natsu looked back at everyone with unwavering belief in his eyes.

"I admit that Alu is too ambitious for her own good sometimes," he continued, "but I think I know why. She's convinced that we don't believe in her because she's only half-strong in both of her Magical skills. She wants to show everyone that she's a capable wizard. I know perfectly well what that feels like. And after what that poser said to her today, I wouldn't be surprised if she feels that determination even more. This might be just me, but I do think that she will succeed one day."

Lucy's face softened when she heard that. Natsu always had faith in their daughter. Even now, he was still showing that his belief that she would become strong one day was still very clear.

Still, she couldn't forget all the times Alu had gotten herself in trouble because of her desire to be a strong and powerful wizard, regardless of her Magic Deficiency.

"I know what you're saying, Natsu," Lucy said quietly. "But Alu keeps insisting on these unauthorized solo jobs. I wouldn't mind it so much if they were simple jobs, but she always chooses the dangerous ones. You know she can't keep getting away with that. She's our only child. I do believe in her, but at the same time, if anything were to happen to her…"

Lucy grimaced and looked away. Natsu sensed her concern and gently wrapped his right arm around her, rubbing her shoulder for comfort. Although he didn't say it verbally, he was feeling the exact same thing she was.

Erza lowered her head and let out a deep sigh.

"I understand where you two are coming from," she said with empathy. "And I'm sorry that things had to come to this. But for now, let's just deal with the situation at hand and we'll see how it goes from there."

"Best plan on the whole, in my opinion." Gray nodded.

"Why should your opinion matter?" Natsu glared at the black-haired man. "Alu's not your daughter."

"Yeah, but she's still just like another Fire Dragon Slayer I know," Gray said sarcastically. "As if one wasn't enough in this guild. Heh, and you thought having two Erzas was a nightmare back in Edolas."

"What was that?" Erza asked sharply.

"Nothing!" Natsu replied quickly, gritted his teeth.

Natsu let go of Lucy and stepped forward, ready to challenge Gray to another fight. The Ice Wizard responded to the nonverbal remark and began got prepare himself. But before the two could start their brawl, Lucy looked around and blinked when she noticed something.

"Hey, where'd Ash go?"

At the sound of that question, Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Erza all began to turn their heads in every possible direction. No matter where they looked, they couldn't see the young boy anywhere.

Ash was gone.

"I guess he must have slipped away when we were talking." Happy shrugged.

"But he didn't go inside the guild." Erza pointed out. "So where could he have gone?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Gray said casually. "He's responsible enough. I'm sure he just went into town for something."

* * *

Gray was partially right. Ash did run into the city of Magnolia, but his business had nothing to do with the town. He was heading towards the East Forest beyond the town.

He knew that would be the most likely place where he would find Alu.


	3. Chapter 3: Opposites Attract

**Chapter 3**

 **Opposites Attract**

In about half an hour later, Ash was running through the East Forest at a steady pace. He could tell he was getting close to where he wanted to be because of the increasing sound of someone punching a tree, grunting, and ranting.

The voice of the upset person obviously belonged to a girl. And it was certainly a voice that Ash knew all too well.

It wasn't long until he came to a clearing and saw Alu punching the base of a tree. He looked closer at the tree trunk and noticed that there were two pieces of paper pinned to it with terribly drawn images of two people.

One of them appeared to be Erza. And the second one looked like Ur, Ash's twin sister.

Ash sighed and shook his head when he saw that. He hung back for a moment as he watched Alu beat up the pictures, ranting between punches as she did.

"STUPID ERZA!" Alu's voice was a violent as a volcano. "TELLING ME…I CAN'T WORK FOR TWO STINKEN' WEEKS! AND STUPID UR! UGH! YOU'LL PAY…FOR RATTING ME OUT!"

Finally, Alu landed a solid punch on the image of Erza's face and stopped. She dropped the tension in her shoulders and shut her eyes. She twisted her face in pain and hung her head. The pain she was feeling wasn't anything physical. Even the soreness in her fists didn't bother her.

Sensing that this would be a good time to make himself known, Ash stepped out of the trees and walked forward.

"Have you blown off steam yet?" he asked.

Upon hearing his voice, Alu's eyes snapped open and she whipped around to see Ash standing just a few yards behind her.

Ash was a little taller than Alu herself. He had a lean build with some noticeable muscles that were beginning to show, particularly on his arms and torso.

Like his father, Ash had coal-black hair. However, there was a single streak of blue in left side of his bangs, which he most likely inherited from his mother, Juvia. He also had dark grey eyes, and light-colored skin.

He was currently dressed in a light blue T-shirt with dark shorts and black sneakers.

When Alu saw him, she gave a startled expression and her cheeks turned an almost unnoticeably shade of pink.

"Ash!" she yelped. "Oh, hi!"

"Sorry," Ash said, smiling awkwardly and scratching the back of his head, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, no, you didn't startle me." Alu said quickly, gathering her senses. "I, uh, I just didn't know you there. So…what are you doing here?"

"Well," Ash said slowly, searching for the right word to use, "I saw you run out of the guildhall and you looked upset. I guess…I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Alu frowned, "Am I allowed to guess you heard about what happened today?"

"Yeah, your parents and Erza did mention it." Ash admitted.

Alu's face turned from disappointment to irritation.

"Geez!" she shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. "Those three are really getting on my last nerve! And two of them, I live with! They just find every excuse to ground me! I'm sure if I spilled just a bottle of the guild's booze they would put me on a two MONTH restriction!"

"Well, you did take that solo job without permission again, didn't you?" Ash pointed out tentatively. "That was kind of asking for it."

"Don't you start on me, too, Ash!" Alu snapped, shooting a scowl at the boy. "I get enough of that from my parents! I don't need it from you, too!"

"Just calm down, Alu," the boy said mildly, raising his hands in a calming gesture. "I understand your upset, but beating up a tree that can't even fight back isn't going to help things. Why don't you tell me what's troubling you? I just want to help you."

The scowl of Alu's face lessened at those words. She then glanced down at the ground for a moment, holding her breath and flexing her fists a couple of times as she thought over what Ash said.

Finally, she let out her breath and turned her gaze back to her friend.

"I'm just frustrated and angry," she confessed, the honesty in her voice was noticeable, and also sharp in tone. "Is that so wrong?"

"No," Ash shook his head, "at least I don't think it is. Everyone gets like that. But you do seem to be angrier than usual. Honestly, I've never seen you this way before. Is there any reason why?"

Alu didn't answer. She looked away and bit her lips.

Ash sensed her hesitation and walked up to her. He then reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. She felt his gesture and flinched. She then looked up at him with a small look of surprise.

"Hey, let's go for a walk." Ash suggested. "Maybe that will help clear things up for ya. What do you say?"

"Uh, sure." Alu nodded, her cheeks turning pink again. This time it was a little more noticeable, but Ash didn't seem to pay attention to that. Or if he noticed, he didn't say anything about it.

The two friends began to walk around the East Forest in an aimless manner. It didn't matter where they went, just as long they stayed within the forest. It was nice to stroll through the woods and listen to all the sounds of nature; from the rustling of the wind in the leafs, to the trickling of the water in the lakes and rivers, to the chirps of small animals up in the trees or scuttling across the earth.

For a while, Alu just looked down at her feet with a sullen expression. She knew that Ash was trying to help her, but she still felt uncomfortable talking about what was on her mind at the moment. And while Ash was her best friend, she wasn't even sure how he would be able to help her with the situation she was in.

As she thought over this, she glanced over at Ash. She watched as he used Ice Maker Magic to create a small crystal-clear Fairy Tail emblem. Alu smiled a little in admiration when she saw that. As much as she loved her own magic, she had to admit that Ash's magic was pretty amazing, too.

Not to mention, Ash was an amazing Ice Wizard. He just seemed to have this innate skill to learn Ice Magic just by watching his father do it. Ash only had to see a technique once, and he could learn how to use it effectively in just a matter of days. He was the very definition of a fast learner.

There were times where Alu was envious of his skill and power. He just seemed to get better and better every day, something she couldn't seem to do with her own Magic.

Ash noticed her watching him out of the corner of his eye, and decided to start the conversation again.

"So, listen," he said, fiddling around with the ice emblem he created, "I don't want you to feel like you have to talk to me, but I know that it's not a healthy thing to keep all your emotions bottled up. And if you have something you want to get off your chest, well…I just want you to know I'm here for you."

"I know, Ash." Alu replied in a low voice. "And I appreciate it."

There was a moment of silence.

Finally, Alu gave a sad expression.

"Ash," she said softly, "do you think I'm Fairy Tail's weakest link?"

"No, of course not." Ash replied, looking over at Alu. "Why? Did someone call you that?"

Alu slowly nodded.

"It was the rogue wizard I confronted today," she grumbled. "He called me "Fairy Tail's Weak Link"."

"Heh, that's not what the official guilds call you." Ash shrugged. "They call you "Fairy Tail's Little Terror"."

Alu just looked at Ash with an annoyed expression.

"Very funny," she grunted.

"Hey, it's their words, not mine." Ash replied, making his little ice emblem disappear. "Although I can't really say that they're wrong. I heard you made quite a fiasco at Blue Pegasus last month during the exchange program."

Alu stopped dead in her tracks, making Ash stop as well. He looked back at her and saw her face twist into an irritated scowl.

"Hey, they were the ones who started it!" Alu snapped. "They tried to make me into some kind of object to be lusted over!"

"Yeah, I can see that." Ash replied, not sounding too worried about Alu's temper. "But I heard you smuggled a suit out of the men's dressing room. Did you really do that?"

"You know I hate dresses!" Alu stated firmly. "And the one they gave me was ugly as sin! The neckline went down past my bellybutton! Seriously, the person who made that should've been shot!"

"I'll take that as a "yes"," Ash grinned nervously, "I bet you gave the Trimen a real shock when you came out in a suit. I can just imagine the look on their faces."

Alu simply grunted with distain.

"And I heard about the ice box scare." Ash continued, starting to snicker. "Honestly, I wish I had been there. From what Dad told me, you really gave Ichyia a scare."

"I was defending Erza's honor." Alu grumbled. "The little troll had it comin'. But only Dad and Happy thought it was funny. They were on the floor with me laughing."

Ash laughed a little at the story. His chuckle made Alu give a small grin.

"Well, all I can say is that those guys should've known better than to mess with you." Ash smiled. "You sure put them in their place. After all, true beauty can't be put in a box."

When Ash said that, Alu looked at him with wide-eyes. A strong blush came over her cheeks.

"Are…you saying I'm beautiful?" Alu asked slowly.

Ash's smile disappeared and was quickly replaced with a mortified expression. His face turned exceedingly red, and his ears burned with embarrassment. He hastily turned away from Alu and lowered his head, making his bangs hide his eyes.

"Uh…well…" he stammered, fiddling with his fingers, "I mean, yeah. You're beautiful…in your own way. I mean…you're probably the most courageous person I've ever met and…well…that's a great quality to have."

Alu glanced away and rubbed her left arm.

"Well, thanks Ash," she said softly. "That's…really nice of you."

For a moment or two, there was an awkward silence between the boy and girl. They just glanced back and forth between each other and a random place in the forest, trying to think of what to say in this situation. More specifically, they were thinking of how they could move away from the subject.

Finally, Ash cleared his throat and regained his composure.

"Anyway," he said quickly, "how did we get on this topic?"

Alu frowned.

"We were talking about that rogue wizard calling me Fairy Tail's Weak Link," she reminded, miserably.

"Oh, yeah." Ash replied, scratching the back of his head. "Um, don't mean to dwell on it, but did he say anything else to you?"

Alu closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

"Yeah," she said glumly, "he also said that my mom and dad were so unfortunate to have me as their child."

"Okay, that guy's a liar." Ash said firmly. "Have your parents ever shown seeing you as a misfortune? Far as I can tell, they care about you a lot."

"Hmph," Alu grimaced, "yeah, they follow me around twenty-four seven and lecture me every time I take a solo mission with out approval. And did you know that my mom specifically asked both Gramps and Laxus to not let me go on any solo missions?"

"Uh," Ash blinked in surprise, "no, I didn't."

"Well, she did." Alu continued, her ire rising. "And what's worse is that Dad agreed with her. It's like they don't trust me enough. If they want me to become as strong as them, why do they always have to treat me like I'm still a child? I'm fourteen years old, going on fifteen. I should be allowed to go on solo jobs like you and the others. But my parents happen to be overprotective and think that I can't take care of myself just because I'm only half-strong in both Celestial Magic and Dragon Slayer Magic."

Alu's voice rose a little bit, and she sounded like she was having a difficult time getting her words out.

"I mean I'm a freakin' Dragon Slayer's kid for goodness sake! You'd think I'd be the most powerful mage in the guild! But I'm just…just…!"

Alu exhaled sharply and shut her eyes, unable to finish that statement. When she spoke again, she was very quiet and downhearted.

"Sometimes I feel like…just running away."

Ash looked at Alu for a moment with a sympathetic expression. He was sensing her frustration, and based on what he had heard from her, he was beginning the see the true source of it.

"Alu, I'm sorry you feel that way," he said calmly. "And I'm sorry that there's not much I can do to help with that, but I am curious as to why you always take solo missions. You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I noticed you mentioned something about your parents wanting you to be as strong as them. Did they ever say they wanted you to be just as strong as them? Have you ever considered the thought that they just want you to be you? And are you sure that just completing a solo mission will be enough to get them to trust you? Or anyone else in the guild for that matter? Because, no offense, but that sounds very…oh, what's the word…simple? I think it takes more than just completing a mission by yourself to gain trust and respect."

Alu didn't answer. She just glanced away.

That reaction was enough to tell Ash that he was on to something. Alu only did that whenever someone said something that was true, but she didn't want to admit it. Whatever Alu's reasons were for being rebellious, Ash was now sure that it had something to do with her wanting to gain her parent's trust, and possibly the respect of the Fairy Tail guild.

Of course, that also all depended on the girl's definitions of "trust" and "respect". Because based on what Ash had observed of her many times in the past, she and him seemed to have very different interpretations of those words and concepts.

"You know that Erza put me on a two-week restriction, right?" Alu spoke up, deliberately changing the subject. "I can't go on any missions for a while, solo or otherwise. Looks like you'll have to team up with someone else for a while."

Ash just smiled.

"That's okay," he said. "I needed a break from jobs anyway."

Alu looked up at him with surprise. What was he saying that for?

"Besides, going on missions without you wouldn't be the same." Ash continued. "We're Team Frozen Flames, aren't we? We need to stick together. And if you're on restriction, then I guess I could help you with your training. After all, it's better to hone your fighting skills if you have a partner to practice with. And we are close to perfecting that combo attack."

"You mean you want to take two weeks off to help me train?" Alu asked. "Are you sure about that? What about your sister?"

"Oh, she'll be fine." Ash shrugged. "I know Ur. She might be a little miffed about me helping you, considering that you two are constantly at each other's throats, but she'll get over it eventually."

It was then that Alu clenched her fists and scowled.

"Speaking of which," she snarled, "I still need to pay her back for blabbing on me."

"Alu," Ash said flatly, "for your information, Ur was out on a job with our mom since yesterday. And she's still not back yet. I doubt she was the one who told your dad about your whereabouts."

"Are you serious?!" Alu shrieked.

"Yeah." Ash nodded.

Alu tensed and mumbled some random sounds under her breath. She always did this whenever she was proven wrong about something she was sure was correct. Ash couldn't help but chuckle.

"So what do you say?" the boy asked. "You wanna turn your restriction into a two-week training session?"

Alu's mood quickly changed and she looked back at Ash with a confident grin.

"Sure," she replied. "Sounds fun. How about we start right now?"

"I was just waiting on you." Ash said, grabbing the bottom of his shirt.

"Oh, I see you're getting serious!" Alu playfully sneered.

"That's right, the shirt's comin' off!" Ash declared, throwing his shirt off and tossing it aside, revealing the dark blue Fairy Tail insignia on the right side of his chest. "It might be a spar, but I'm not holding back!"

"Good, 'cuz I'm not either!" Alu leapt back and took a fighting stance. "Now let's see what you got this time, Ice Wizard!"

"Bring it on, Dragon Slayer!"

With that, the two young wizards began to fight each other. Along with some kicks, punches, and acrobatic moves, they also threw a bit of their Magic around as well. Since this was a friendly match, they dialed down the force of their power just enough so that they wouldn't hurt each other too seriously. After all, this was mostly just for fun, and they both knew it.

Not to mention, this was a great way for Alu to get her mind off things. If there was anyone who could make her feel better, and could go toe-to-toe with her in a fight, it was Ash.


	4. Chapter 4: One of a Kind

**Chapter 4**

 **One of a Kind**

 _Later that evening…_

After Alu and Ash had gone through about six or so sparing rounds, they noticed that the sun had begun to set. This reminded the two of them that they had to return home before their parents came to find them. After saying good-bye, and after Ash gathered up his shirt, the two friends parted ways. Ash returned to the city of Magnolia since his home was in an apartment building in one of the districts, and Alu headed to the outskirts of the city.

Of course, Alu wasn't really in any hurry to get home. She purposely dragged her feet and kept her gaze down the whole time. She knew her parents were probably home by now, and that they were waiting for her to return. No doubt they were still angry with her about her little stunt today, and were going to lecture her about it some more. She really didn't want have to deal with that.

Heck, she didn't want to have to deal with her parents at all!

About an hour later, she was walking past the sign that signified that this was the Dragneel's house. Alu briefly cast her gaze on it. She randomly remembered how the sign outside once said that this was Natsu and Happy house. Of course, that changed shortly before she was born.

After Natsu and Lucy had married, the couple decided that Lucy would move into Natsu and Happy's house after the lease on her apartment was up. For a while, it was just a small, cozy little house. It was right for a newly-wed couple just starting out.

The house had another section added onto it when it was clear that the little family was going to get bigger. That happened after Lucy became pregnant with Alu. During that time, Natsu and some other members of the Fairy Tail guild built on the second section. From what Alu had been told, it was completed just two weeks before she was born.

At the same time, the old sign was replaced with another sign that said the house was the home of the Dragneel Family. Alu didn't know what happened to the old one, but knowing her father, he probably stashed it away somewhere since he most likely felt like it had some significant value to it. Natsu was always one to keep items that he felt had special memories attached to them. There was a whole wall in the house that was plastered with past job requests he had taken with Lucy and Happy in the past, as well as a collection of souvenirs he had gathered from those missions.

Alu walked up the steps that led up to her house. As she reached the final one, a familiar voice said,

"Nice timing, your mom's makin' dinner. Care to tell me where you've been?"

Alu stopped and looked up dryly to see her father sitting cross-legged on a rocky ledge just above her head.

Had he been sitting up there that whole time just waiting for her? Wouldn't surprise Alu if he had.

Natsu looked down at her with the same expression he had given her earlier that day. He wasn't mad at her, but he certainly showed that still he wasn't too pleased with her previous actions.

Alu glared at her father for only a moment before turning away and walking up to the house.

"So now you're giving me the silent treatment?" Natsu asked sarcastically.

"No," Alu replied sharply, not looking back, "I just don't have anything to say. And I don't want to end the day on another lecture. I already got an ear-and-a-half-full from Erza and Mom today."

"Well, you kind of asked for it." Natsu pointed out.

"Hmph."

Before Alu could take another step, Natsu got up, leapt down off the ledge and walked up to her. When she heard him coming, she stopped and turned her head around. At the same time, Natsu reached out a hand and grabbed her shoulder. It wasn't in a forceful manner, just enough to get her attention.

"Hey," he said, "let's go for a walk."

That made Alu pause for a moment.

"I thought you said Mom was making dinner?" she said.

"It's one of her complicated recipes." Natsu replied, grinning. "You know how long it takes her to make one of those."

Alu couldn't help but give a small smirk.

"Besides," Natsu's voice changed to a sincerer tone, "we won't go far. I just want to tell you something. And I promise that it won't be another lecture."

Alu narrowed her eyes suspiciously at that remark. If her father didn't want to lecture her on her actions today, then what was it that he wanted to tell her?

"Oh, alright," Alu said with a heavy exhale. "Might as well."

Together, father and daughter walked about half a mile away from the house before coming to a hill. They both stopped and sat down to look out over the landscape that stretched before them. The sun was already setting on the western horizon, tinting everything in rich red, orange, and yellow colors. Its warm rays shone down on Alu's face, and seeped into her skin, giving her a sense of empowerment.

Since the sun was another form of fire, and fire was part of Alu's Magic, it always made her feel strong. Just feeling its light, even on the hottest days, gave Alu courage and a sense of power.

"So," Natsu said, interrupting Alu's thoughts, "I guess you're wondering why I brought you out here."

Alu looked over at her father for a moment before looking away.

"I've got a hunch," she said plainly.

Natsu looked over at his daughter for a moment, and she turned her head away. Clearly, she was trying to avoid eye-contact with him. He closed his eyes and lowered his head for a moment. He then looked back to the setting sun.

"I don't know how to say this lightly," he said honestly, "but I overheard what that wizard said to you today when he captured you."

Alu jolted up with shocked eyes when she heard that. At the same time, those hurtful words from before stormed into her mind.

* * *

 _"_ _You're Fairy Tail's Weak Link. It's a shame. You're the daughter of two S-Class wizards of Fairy Tail, yet your strength pales in comparison to theirs. How misfortunate they were to produce such a weak offspring like you."_

* * *

Alu scowled hard, baring her teeth. Down at her sides, her fists clenched so hard that she tore up handfuls of the grass underneath.

That was a clear sign to Natsu that he had struck a nerve in his daughter. He grimaced when he saw that. He really didn't want to make her angry, but it really couldn't be helped either.

"I know what he said was hurtful," he went on to say, "but it was also a lie."

"That so?!" Alu replied hotly. "I don't see how it was! Me running out of power and you having to save my butt didn't prove that guy wrong, did it?! That was rather "misfortunate", wasn't it?! If that's what you got to tell me then I'm out of here!"

Alu got up indignantly and was about to walk away when Natsu hastily got to his feet and grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to turn around to face him as he did. He then grabbed both of her shoulders and stared straight into her eyes. With the sunlight behind him, this effect gave him a very commanding appearance.

"Alu, listen to me." Natsu's voice was low and honest. "Don't think for one moment that your mom and I consider you a misfortune in anyway. That's a flat out lie."

Alu just stood where she was, feeling a strange and unnerving kind of vibe as her father spoke to her. It wasn't like he was angry or yelling at her, but just the way he was presenting his speech made feel like she had a hole in her stomach. It was almost impossible for her to even think of looking away now.

Her eyes staring intensely back into his was enough to tell Natsu that he had gotten her full attention.

"You're our daughter and we love you for who you are," he continued. "You know that, right?"

Alu frowned and cast her gaze down at the space between their feet.

"Mm-hmm," she said softly. Although it was obvious that she wasn't completely convinced.

Natsu then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his daughter, hugging her close to him. Alu tensed for a second, as the gesture was unexpected. However, after feeling the strength and protection of his embrace, she let herself to relax. Part of her wanted to hug her father back, but her arms felt too heavy to perform the action. Instead, she let them hang at her sides.

"That's not all I wanted to tell you." Natsu said, placing a hand behind Alu's head. "I wanted to tell you that you're more special than you think."

Alu's eyelids drooped as her father continued.

"You're the only Dragon Slayer to have been born with that Magic," he said. "Gajeel, Wendy and I were all trained by Dragons; Laxus had a Dragon Lacrima implanted inside of him; and Sting and Rogue from Sabertooth were trained by Dragons as well as having Dragon Lacrimas implanted in them. You're the only one of us who has been born with Dragon Slayer Magic, which makes you one of a kind. That is something you should be proud of."

Alu bit her lip to hold back her rising emotion and closed her eyes. A large part of her wanted to believe the words her father was telling her. She really wanted to believe all of it. But she couldn't help but feel as if something was still missing. She was proud of having been born with Dragon Slayer magic, she really was. She wanted to tell her father that, but the words couldn't seem to get past her thoughts.

It just…it didn't feel like that was enough.

But Natsu meant well and she knew that. So, she kept her mouth closed. Instead, she just cherished the warmth of his fatherly embrace. Even though she couldn't find the will to raise her arms and hug him back, she didn't reject his.

Even if she never admitted it, Alu loved being hugged by her father. It always made her feel safe, like nothing bad could happen to her.

After a moment or two, a little voice called out from above.

"Hey, Natsu! Lucy's got supper ready and on the table!"

Natsu let go of his daughter and looked up to see Happy hovering just above them. Alu did the same when she heard the little Exceed.

"She sent me to get you guys." Happy explained. "We better hurry and get it while it's hot."

"Sure thing, buddy." Natsu nodded. "C'mon, Alu."

"Okay," the girl replied dryly.

As they all walked back to the house, Natsu and Happy trailed behind a little bit while Alu continued on at a steady pace. The reason for this was so that the two friends could talk in private. Since their conversation was about Alu, they didn't want her to overhear it.

"Looks like Alu's calmed down a bit." Happy whispered. "You must've said something right to her."

"Heh," Natsu smirked, "just make sure you don't let it slip that you were the one who told me and Lucy about her little excursion today. You saw how angry she was when she thought it was Ur who told us. But you and Alu live under the same roof. And you know she can be fierce when she's angry."

Happy gave a nervous smile. He certainly knew how scary Alu could be when she was significantly enraged. She was basically a pink-haired Lucy when the Celestial Wizard was younger. The only difference was that Alu had Fire Dragon Slayer Magic at her disposal, which made her all the more terrifying.

"Anyway," Natsu's voice changed to more serious, "let's just drop the subject for tonight. The less we talk about it the better. So don't say a word about it, okay?"

"Aye." Happy replied with a nod.

* * *

 _Later that night…_

After a quiet dinner of cooked fish, baked bread, and bowtie pasta – along with one stick of fire from the fireplace for each of the Fire Dragon Slayers as dessert – Alu went to her room and stayed there for the rest of the night.

Sitting on her bed in the dark, with only the radiance of the moon coming in through the window as her only source of light, Alu looked down at her hands with a sad expression. In each of her hands were all of the Celestial Keys she had in her possession. Four of them were the Golden Keys of the Zodiac, and three of them were Silver Keys.

The Gold Keys consisted of Aries, Cancer, Gemini, and Capricorn. The Silver Keys were of Nikora, Pyxis, and Caelum.

Alu didn't have any immediate plans to use them at the moment; she just wanted to stare at them. For some reason, they always gave her a sense of comfort. It was like they were symbols to remind her that she was never alone.

Still, even looking at them wasn't easing her mind very much.

She was harkening back to what her father said to her earlier. Just something he said kept repeating over and over in her mind like a broken record.

* * *

 _"_ _You're the only one of us who has been born with Dragon Slayer Magic, which makes you one of a kind. That is something you should be proud of."_

* * *

"One of a kind, huh?" she mumbled to herself. "Just because I'm born with Dragon Slayer Magic. Yet…I can't hold a candle to the other Dragon Slayers, let alone Celestial Wizards. What if Dad's wrong about me? What if…I really am just some weak link?"

Just considering that horrible possibility was enough to make tears well up in Alu's eyes. When she felt them threatening to stream down her cheeks, the girl gently placed her precious keys down on the bed and covered her eyes with one hand.

She took several deep breaths as she forced herself not to cry. In her mind, strong people never cried, whether they were alone or not.

Alu then lifted her face out of her hand and sat still for a moment. She then swung her legs over the edge of the bed and got off of it. She walked over to her desk and turned on a small lamp. She sat down in the chair and opened a small drawer that contained a white box. Alu took out the box and opened the lid.

Inside the container was a big collection of beautiful seashells of different sizes. They were shells that Alu had collected whenever she went to the beach with her family or the whole guild. At some point in the trip, Alu would sneak away to shell hunt in secret. She didn't know why, she just loved to collect seashells.

And she liked to do something else with them. Inside the box was also a store of thin black string, clasps, scissors, and a tiny drilling tool.

For the next hour, Alu worked quietly on making some seashell necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. Pretty soon, she had at least six more pieces that she could add to her collection.

For some reason, making jewelry out of seashells calmed Alu down in a very curious way. She might not have been into girly things like jewelry, but she did like making little accessories like out of seashells.

Of course, this was a secret that no one was going to know about, not even her parents. No one needed to know about this hobby anyway.

And if nothing else, it did help soothe her thoughts. At least she didn't feel like crying anymore.

But still, Alu couldn't help but feel just a twinge of misery still lingering in her mind.


	5. Chapter 5: Fairy Tail's Little Terror

**Chapter 5**

 **Fairy Tail's Little Terror**

The next day, Alu was sitting alone at one of the long tables in the Fairy Tail guildhall. Boredom clearly showed on her face, and she just draped over the table like student disinterested in a class discussion.

Natsu, Lucy, and Happy had just left on a job request and wouldn't be back until the end of the day; Ash went up to Mt. Hakobe with his father so he could learn a new Ice Make technique; and anyone else that Alu could hang out with had already gone off on job requests.

"Man, restriction sucks," the girl mumbled to herself. "If Erza hadn't threatened to suspend me from the guild, I'd be out of here by now."

"Hey, Alu."

Alu lifted her head when she heard a sweet, gentle voice call her name. She looked over to her left and was surprised see a small piece of chocolate cake with whipped cream on top had been placed down beside her. She looked over to see who had given it to her.

"Auntie Lisanna."

Lisanna Strauss, smiling as always, sat down next to Alu. Her pearl-white was tied in a small, side pony tail that draped over her left shoulder. She had on a pale blue sleeveless shirt, a pair of short jean shorts, black leggings that went up just a little past her knees, and a pair of grey sneakers.

Her bright blue eyes were sparkling with optimism and cheerfulness. While Alu wasn't feeling particularly happy at the moment, those blue eyes made it impossible for her to be annoyed by Lisanna's presence. In fact, Alu didn't mind it at all.

"Thought you'd like some cake." Lisanna said kindly. "You looked kind of bored."

"That's an understatement," Alu grumbled, "but thanks anyway."

Alu picked up the fork beside the chocolate cake and began to eat it. She wasn't exactly in the mood for cake, but since Lisanna went through all the trouble of getting it for her, she might as well look like she was enjoying it.

Lisanna was one of the very few people that Alu still had respect for. Probably because Lisanna was the one who babysat her the most when she was a little girl. Whenever Natsu, Lucy and Happy went out on missions, they would leave her with Lisanna.

Because of all their time spent together, Lisanna knew Alu better than most people. She could tell when Alu was happy, sad, frustrated, or angry. In many ways, she was like an aunt to Alu. Which is why Alu always called her "Auntie Lisanna".

Lisanna didn't say a word the whole time Alu ate her cake. It was only after Alu swallowed her last bit and set her fork down that she finally spoke up.

"I…heard about what happened yesterday," she admitted.

At the mention of yesterday, Alu's expression glazed over.

"Now I see why you got me the cake," she groaned.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Lisanna assured. "I had a feeling that you were still down about it."

Alu roughly pushed the plate away and let her head fall back down onto the table. Lisanna frowned.

"Mom and Dad driving me insane." Alu moaned. "Why can't they leave me alone?"

"It's because they care about you." Lisanna said. "I mean; you are their only child. They would be really upset if something bad happened to you."

"Yeah, I know that. But I just want them to get off my back for at least one day. It's like they've become more paranoid than usual."

"I'm sure it's because you're their only child and they don't want to lose you. You're the only family they have now."

Alu gave a small frown and kept her head down. She knew the stories of how Lucy's mother and father died, and how Natsu's foster father, Igneel the Fire Dragon King, was killed by Acnologia. For the longest time, they were both orphans and had no family outside of Fairy Tail. It was only after they had married each other, and after Alu was born, that they did have a family again.

Seeing as how they lost their original families, Alu couldn't say she blamed them for being so protective of her. However, that didn't stop the fact that it also irritated her to no end.

"And you have to admit," Lisanna continued, "you do kind of give them a reason to worry."

That made Alu flinch in anger and sit up straight. A look of resentment painted itself on her face.

"Oh sure, it's always my fault!" she snapped. "That's what everyone says! Why don't people just blame me for every little mistake that happens around here while they're at it!"

"I'm sorry, Alu," Lisanna apologized, "I didn't mean to upset you."

Alu just grunted and turned away with a sour expression. Lisanna was about to say something again when a sweet female voice called her name from across the guildhall.

"Lisanna! It's time to go!"

The white-haired woman looked over to the entrance of the building and saw her two older siblings waiting near the door. Mirajane was waving to her with a big smile on her face, and Elfman just stood tall with his arms folded across his chest.

Lisanna got up from her seat and turned back to Alu.

"Listen, I gotta get going," she said. "But we can talk some more when I get back. We can have some more sweets, too, if you like. That sound okay?"

"Whatever." Alu replied grumpily, not looking at Lisanna. "See ya around."

Lisanna just gave one small frown before deciding to leave Alu alone. She quickly made her way across the guildhall and met up with her siblings. The three of them briefly discussed the mission they were about to take before heading out.

Once again, Alu was left with her own thoughts.

"Geez, even Auntie Lisanna takes everyone else's side," she mumbled miserably. "I'm surprised nobody's kicked me out of the guild yet. If they find me so annoying, then they might as well for all I care."

It was then that a voice caught Alu's attention.

"Let me guess, you got busted again."

Alu gave an irritated expression. She lifted herself up and turned around to see who had spoken to her. It was a tall, brown-haired woman dressed in a bikini top with brown capris and black sandals. In her right hand was a large bottle of wine.

"Cana," Alu said unenthusiastically. "What do you want?"

"Heh, I've had warmer welcomes," Cana said in a slurred voice.

Alu wrinkled her nose with nauseous disgust and quickly turned away. She held her head as her strong sense of smell picked up a nasty pong of alcohol coming off of Cana. The scent was strong enough already, but with the woman standing close beside her, the scent punched Alu in the face and gave her a headache.

"Ugh." Alu groaned, plugging her nose. "Geez Cana, has anyone ever told you that you smell like ten breweries?"

"Hey, it's not my fault that the drinks here give off a stench." Cana replied nonchalantly. "Besides, what's it matter to you?"

"Because the smell that you always have on you gives me a headache, that's why." Alu replied with irritation. "Seriously, take Erza's advice and cut back on the beer."

"Yeah, right. Like I'd listen to a squirt like you." Cana said, waving her hand dismissively. "This is my drinking time, so just deal with it."

"Drinking time? Oh, please." Alu scoffed. "Every hour is your drinking hour. Heck, I'm surprised you haven't poisoned your liver yet. But it's going catch you some day."

"Well, when it does I'll collapse," the brunette woman said. "At least I don't try to get myself killed on missions. I'd rather be known as "Fairy Tail's Heaviest Drinker" than "Fairy Tail's Little Terror"."

Alu shot a glare at Cana before turning away with a scowl.

"And people wonder why you're still single," she grumbled spitefully.

Cana responded to that with a sharp look of her own.

"Watch it, kid; I'm single by choice," she frowned. "Besides, I'm not the one dating the son of my father's greatest rival."

Alu's face turned tomato-red with embarrassment and she leapt out of her seat to get up in Cana's face.

"Ash and I are not dating!" she yelled, flustered. "We're just best friends, got it?!"

"Whatever," Cana shrugged, "it's not of my business. Although, that does remind me of your mom whenever people said she was in love with your dad. For so long she denied it. And look at those two love-birds now. They tied the knot and got busy."

"Oh, shut up." Alu snapped. "You make it sound dirty."

"Well, you are the living proof of that." Cana pointed out, making Alu scowl even more. "And I guess we should've expected any child of Natsu's to be as rambunctious and troublesome as him."

"What?!" Alu said sharply, feeling insulted by that comment.

"C'mon, pipsqueak," Cana smirked mischievously, "you're just as big of a troublemaker as your old man. Everyone knows it. You're totally your daddy's little girl."

"I AM NOT!" Alu screeched loudly.

Alu yell was so loud that everyone in the guild heard it. They turned to look at her with surprised and confused expressions, wondering what she could be screaming about. Alu seemed to sense all eyes on her and whipped around to scowl at everyone.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL LOOKIN' AT?!" she shouted viciously.

That gave everyone the cue to just go back to minding their own business. They definitely didn't want to have to deal with an angry Alu. Cana, on the other hand, just snickered at the scene before her. She didn't even stop after the pink-haired girl in front of her turned back and glowered at her.

Finally, Alu let out a deep exhale.

"I'm not daddy's little girl." Alu frowned, turning away and folding her arms across her chest. "And I have no romantic interest in Ash whatsoever. I just like hanging out with him and that's all. Now would you please leave me alone?"

"Fine, have it your way," Cana replied casually. "I'm just going to get back to my drinking time. Have fun sulking."

And with that, Cana walked away.

Alu gave an aggravated grunt sat back down into the seat, still keeping her arms crossed. For a while, she just sat there with her eyes tightly shut and her lips pressed together. She was irritated enough already, but that little conversation raised her ire even more.

Then, like a spark of lightning, and idea popped into Alu's head. Her eyes slowly open as she thought over it for a moment. An impish grin spread across her face as she settled on the plan.

"Thanks, Cana," she said mischievously to herself. "You just gave me a great idea."

Although her mind was racing excitedly with this new idea, Alu casually got up from the table and began to walk down to a secluded part of the guild. As she did, she clutched at one of the keys on her belt. When she was out of sight of the other guild members, she took the key off the chain and held in her hand for a moment.

"This is payback for calling me "daddy's little girl"," she snickered. "Time to have some fun."

* * *

 _Later that day at sunset…_

Natsu and Lucy were walking side-by-side down the street with Happy gliding above them. All three of them looked tired and worn out, but they still kept walking. They had to report back to Laxus that they had completed their mission.

Not to mention, Natsu and Lucy had to pick up their daughter from the guildhall.

"Oh man," Lucy sighed heavily, "no wonder Laxus wanted us to take that job together. It might not have been an S-Class mission, but those bandits were certainly a handful."

"Yeah, no joke." Natsu grinned and shrug. "Still, we at least got the mission done. All's well that ends well, right?"

"Right." Lucy nodded. "I just hope Alu's okay."

"Knowing her, she's probably found something to do." Happy said. "I just hope it doesn't involve setting the guild on fire again."

"Oh, heaven forbid!" Lucy groaned. "I don't to have to go through that again!"

The group then turned a corner and soon found themselves at the entrance to Fairy Tail.

"Well, it's still standing." Natsu pointed out. "That's a good sign."

However, the moment Natsu, Lucy, and Happy opened the doors and stepped inside the guild, they were forced to stop as Natsu was suddenly confronted with a very angry Makarov bellowing straight into his face.

"NATSU! WILL YOU EVER GET THAT KID OF YOURS UNDER CONTROL?!"

Natsu leaned away from the enraged man and shut his eyes. His spiky pink hair stood up on end even more than it already did.

Needless to say, that was enough to tell both Natsu and Lucy that the retired Guild Master was a little more than angry. He might have been confined to a wheel chair, but the old man could still grow large enough to get up in their faces.

"SERIOUSLY!" Makarov continued to bellow, opening his mouth so wide Natsu could see his tonsils. "YOU LEAVE ALU ALONE FOR A FEW MOMENTS AND THE WHOLE GUILD SUFFERS FROM HER PRANKS!"

"Why?!" Natsu asked apprehensively. "What'd she do?!"

"I'll tell you what she did!" a female voice replied furiously.

Both Natsu and Lucy turned to see Cana marching up to them. They immediately noticed that she didn't have any alcoholic drinks on her. She was scowling so hard that Natsu was amazed the skin on her face didn't split apart.

"Cana?" Lucy blinked in worried surprise. "What happened?"

"That little rug-rat of yours stole all of the booze from behind the bar, that's what!" Cana replied fiercely.

Natsu and Lucy's eyes widened and their mouths dropped open. Happy cupped his paws over his mouth and tried as hard as he could not to laugh.

"She didn't!" Natsu groaned.

"She did!" Cana scowled. "I don't know how she did it, but somehow she took every single alcoholic drinks from behind the bar and hid them somewhere!"

Lucy covered her eyes with her hand and groaned, "Oh, where is she now?"

"Right over here," a deep, gravelly voice answered.

Natsu and Lucy turned to see a tall, black-haired man named Gajeel holding up two people by the scruffs of their vests. One of them was Alu herself, but the second person was someone who looked exactly like her, even down to the most minute detail.

Upon seeing the second Alu, and sensing the energy that was coming off of them, Lucy scowled with irritation and exclaimed,

"Gemini! You helped Alu on a prank like this?!"

The second Alu suddenly disappeared in a puff of blue smoke and revealed two little Celestial Spirits that were nearly identical in appearance. They were both light blue, and had two antennae on their heads. However, the one called Mini wore orange pants and had a smiling "V" for her mouth, while the other called Gemi wore black pants and had and upside down "V" for his mouth.

"It was just a bit of harmless fun, Lucy." Gemi said cheerfully.

"That's right," Mini replied in the same tone. "Besides, Alu's our key holder now."

"I didn't give your key to her just so you could help her with her pranks!" Lucy replied irritably.

"Piri -Piri," was all the twin spirits said in response before disappearing back to the Celestial World.

With those two gone, Alu was left on her own. However, for someone who had just been caught in the act of a prank, she didn't look too worried. She just kind of looked put out.

"I caught her carrying three bottles down to the basement." Gajeel explained, carelessly letting go of Alu's vest. "Was kind of surprised at first since I saw her just seconds ago by the door. But once I saw her downstairs, I figured out what was going on. Still, she must have been at it for a while. Nearly all the liquor behind the counter is gone."

Natsu face-palmed himself. He could just feel every eye in the guildhall glaring at him and his family. It was easy to see that they were all angry about having their drinks taken from them. It was an unspoken rule in the guild to not mess with another person's drink. Of course, Alu would break that rule and go above and beyond.

While Natsu and Lucy didn't have anything to do with it, they were guilty by relation to the one who did it.

"Took you all long enough to find out it was me." Alu sneered, looking like she was pleased with herself. "Although, considering how everyone loves that nasty stuff, I'm not surprised you were too brain dead to figure it out sooner. I was just doing you a favor."

"I wouldn't push my luck if I were you, kid." Gajeel warned, glowering. "You're in enough trouble as it is."

"Well, you're not me, are you?" Alu rebuked. "Grunkle Gajeel."

Gajeel stiffened in annoyance at that name while nearly everyone else in the guild snickered. Just seeing the mighty Black Steel Gajeel get ticked off by a little girl like Alu was always funny to watch.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT?!" the Iron Dragon Slayer bellowed.

"You should've figured out by now that I don't listen," Alu replied snobbishly.

"That's enough, Alu!" Lucy said firmly as she walked up to her daughter. "Why in the world would you do something like this?!"

"'Cuz I was bored." Alu replied flatly. "There was nothing better to do so why not? It was just a prank. Geez, no one around here can take a joke."

"Don't you take that tone with me, young lady!" Lucy scolded. "Now you're going to apologize to everyone, and you're going take all of the drinks you hid and bring them back up here, AND you're not going to complain about it! Understood?!"

Alu frowned, staring at her mother with fierce intensity. Lucy stared back at her daughter with just the same amount of tension. Finally, Alu shut her eyes and dropped her shoulders, exhaling gruffly.

"Fine," she grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear her. "I'm sorry. I'll bring the drinks back up."

Alu then began to walk away.

"You better!" Cana snapped as Alu walked past her. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm dying of thirst here!"

Alu stopped and turned around quickly, giving the brunette woman a near-death glare.

"Just shut your face for once!" she snarled.

Cana stepped back and fell silent. As did everyone else in the guild.

Alu gave one last scowl and stormed off.

Shortly after that, Natsu felt a firm hand grip his shoulder. He turned around to see Laxus standing behind him with an exasperated expression.

"Natsu," he said, "You and Lucy in my office. Now."

* * *

A few minutes later, Natsu and Lucy were standing in the middle of Master Laxus's office. The Lightning Dragon Slayer had his back to them and was looking out a large window. Makarov was also present. He had parked his wheelchair in the corner of the room.

"I'm sorry," Laxus sighed heavily, "I just don't know what to do with that girl."

"No, we're sorry, Laxus," Lucy said, looking down at her feet. "We don't know what's gotten into Alu lately."

Laxus turned to look at the two wizards. His expression was a rare solemn one.

"I understand," he said in low voice. "But as Master of Fairy Tail, I consider everyone in this guild as my children. That said, I have to consider the well-being of all of them. While Alu hasn't done anything to jeopardize the guild, this behavior of hers is getting out of control. I'm sure you both can understand, being parents yourselves."

Natsu and Lucy looked at each other.

"Yeah," Natsu admitted, "but we only have one kid."

"I know," Laxus nodded slowly, "but you still get where I'm coming from. I'm afraid I've got no choice. If Alu pulls another stunt like this again, then I will be forced to suspend her from the guild for a time."

Natsu looked down at the Master with alarm.

"Whoa, hold on Laxus!" he said. "Don't you think that's a little too harsh?! You said so yourself that she hasn't endangered anyone!"

"Yeah, I know," Laxus replied calmly, "but even you know that her behavior's gone too far."

"Yeah, I know, but still!" Natsu continued. "Alu just wants to prove that she's a Fairy Tail wizard! You really think suspending her is going to help?! She's already miffed about not being able to enter in the S-Class trials as either a contestant or the partner of one! Not to mention, the Grand Magic Games! I just don't see how suspending her would be a good idea! If anything, it'll make things worse! I know Alu! The only reason she's like this now is because of what that rogue wizard said to her the other day!"

Laxus grimaced. He had also heard of the incident with the rogue Dark Guild wizard.

It was at that moment that Makarov decided to intervene.

"I understand what you're saying, Natsu," he said in a low, gravelly voice. "And I hate to even consider that option, but I don't see any other way. When Alu isn't putting herself in danger, she's disrupting the lives of our other guild members. She has to learn that she can't get away with that."

"But Gramps-!" Natsu tried to argue.

"This is for her own safety as well, Natsu!" Makarov said forcefully. He then immediately softened his tone. "I know she wants to become and S-Class wizard. But I'm sorry. Alu was born with a Magic Deficiency. Both you and Lucy know that."

Natsu fell silent. Lucy looked at her husband for a moment, clasping both of her hands together in a kind of silent distress. While Natsu had pretty much said what she was thinking, but she couldn't quite find it in her heart to believe those words.

"I'm sorry to say this," Makarov continued sadly, "but…I'm afraid she'll never be strong enough to become an S-Class wizard."

Natsu scowled angrily at Makarov when he said that. Lucy simply lowered her head, causing her bangs to fall over her eyes and hide them in shadow. Laxus cast his gaze down to the floor.

Just then, Natsu's ears twitched as he picked up the sound of movement outside the door. He turned around just in time to see a purple cloth brush past a small opening in the doorway. At the same time, he heard light footsteps running down the hallway.

He immediately realized that it was Alu. He didn't need to smell her scent to know that. It was definitely his daughter.

And he knew she had overheard everything.

"Oh, no," he whispered to himself.

* * *

Alu ran out of the guildhall and down the streets of Magnolia as fast as her legs could carry her. Tears brimmed her eyes, and threatened to fall with each step she took. She fought them back with every ounce of resistance she had. She wouldn't let anyone see her cry. But the ache in her chest was soon becoming a physical pain that was trying to squeeze those tears out of her.

As she ran, her mind yelled with hurtful thoughts.

 _"_ _They don't believe in me! No one believes in me! Not even the Master! I was right! They just think I'm…A WEAK LINK!"_

As Alu reached the edge of the town, she shut her eyes. Her tears began to flow down her cheeks and were carried away by the wind.

Alu's mind screamed with pain-induced anger, _"I HATE THEM!"_


	6. Chapter 6: The Broken Key

**Chapter 6**

 **The Broken Key**

 _Later that night…_

There was a gentle knock at Alu's door.

Lucy waited for a moment before slowly opening it and coming into the room. In her right hand, she was carried a plate full of food along with a glass of water balanced carefully on a free space. Alu's room was mostly dark, with the only source of light in the room was the lamp on her nightstand.

Lucy frowned sadly when she saw her daughter lying on her side on her bed in the corner, facing the wall.

"Hey," Lucy said kindly, "I brought you some supper."

Alu didn't move. She just briefly glanced up and pictured her mother's face in her mind's eye. She then went back to looking at the wall with a dull expression.

Lucy sighed heavily and set the plate of food and glass of water down on the desk in the corner. She then walked over to Alu and sat down on the edge of her bed. Alu still didn't make any notion to look at her mother, even after Lucy put a gentle hand on her shoulder and rubbed as lovingly as a mother could.

"So, listen," the blonde-haired woman said, "things…got out of hand today. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I didn't mean to get so angry."

Alu didn't answer. She just narrowed her eyes a bit.

Lucy lowered her head and sighed heavily, "I see, you want some alone time. Well, your father and I will be here if you need anything. I'll leave your dinner here in case you get hungry."

Alu just gave a soft moan, giving a small acknowledgment that she was at least listening.

Lucy slowly got up and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Alu waited for a minute before turning over and swinging her legs over to the side of the bed and sitting up. She sat there for a moment before looking up at the food her mother had brought in. She sighed when she saw that it was fried chicken; one drumstick and one wing. She got up and walked over to her desk. She stopped and stared at the food before grabbing the drumstick and eating it. Since some time had passed since Lucy had finished preparing it, the chicken was now mildly warm. Still, Alu began to take little bites out of the chicken and chewed them with a disinterested expression.

After she had finished her meal, she set down the remains of the wing she had just finished eating and looked up in interested alert.

For it was at that moment that she began to take notice of her parent's voices outside her door.

Most people probably would've been courteous enough not to eavesdrop on other people's conversations. However, Alu had a habit of eavesdropping. She just had a need to know what others were talking about. Most of the time that led to her hearing things that she wished she hadn't. Other times, she picked up information she could use to blackmail someone later if she chose to.

But at the moment, she was just curious as to what her parents were talking about. Mostly because she had a confident suspicion that it had something to do with her.

Alu crept towards her door and silently opened it just a crack. Thanks to her Dragon senses, her keen sense of hearing easily picked up the conversation between her parents.

"I just don't know what we're going to do with her." Lucy's said with a hint of stress. "She never acted this way before."

"I feel the same way as you, Lucy." Natsu's voice replied. "I wish I could say it's just some kind of teenager phase, but I think you and I know better than that."

"Hmm," Lucy replied sadly. "It's just…I don't ever remember Alu being this rebellious before. I mean, sure, she's always been headstrong, but she never pushed us away like she does now. She was so sweet and cheerful when she was little. She always wanted to make sure everyone was alright. But now…I don't know. I can't help but feel like maybe we did something wrong."

Alu looked up at the crack in the door with an ambiguous look in her eyes, her attention back on the conversation.

"Sorry I can't answer that." Natsu's voice replied. He sounded serious. "All I know is that she's frustrated and it has something to do with what that rogue wizard said to her. We can tell her what he said was a lie, but I don't think she's going to believe us until she can prove it wrong herself."

Natsu paused for a moment before saying, "And I know she heard what Gramps said to us. That really must've hurt."

Alu gave a painful scowl. That was an understatement.

Lucy groaned. She then gave a tired yawn.

"Oh, sorry." Lucy said drowsily. "I'm just exhausted. Think I'll turn in early."

"I don't blame ya." Natsu replied. "Summoning three spirits at once AND using Star Dress today? I bet that would take it out of me, too."

"Well, I had to do what I could. After all, given that we were surrounded by water and I couldn't…"

Lucy's voice trailed off and she fell silent.

Alu looked up with suspicion and strained to hear what was going on. Judging by the sounds, she guessed that her father had just sat down on the couch next to her mother and had embraced her out of comfort. And it sounded like she had returned the embrace.

"You're thinking of Aquarius, aren't you?" Natsu said compassionately.

There was a pause. But the name that Natsu had mentioned made Alu jolt slightly in alert. It sounded…familiar.

"I miss her." Lucy replied in a slightly tearful voice. "I know it was the only way to save you and the others from Tartaros, but…"

Lucy grimaced and shivered from a bitter memory, unable to bring herself to repeat it. From what Alu could gather, it sounded like a lot of effort for her not to shed a single tear.

At least Lucy had a shoulder to cry on.

"I know," Natsu said in a low voice. "But remember, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make. You can't blame yourself for breaking her key. It wasn't your fault."

Lucy just responded with a simple moan.

"But she promised that we would meet again," the Celestial Wizard said softly. "But we've searched everywhere for her new key, and we haven't found it yet."

"We'll find it someday." Natsu encouraged. "I promise you that. We just have to keep looking."

"I hope your right, Natsu."

Feeling like she had heard enough, Alu gave a very pensive expression and quietly closed the door, making sure that her parents didn't hear her. She couldn't quite explain it, but that last part of the conversation really caught her interest. Almost immediately, her brain was beginning to think about what she just overheard.

 _"Aquarius,"_ she thought to herself. _"Where have I heard that name before? And a broken key? I feel as if I should know something about that. Oh, where did I hear about this? C'mon Alu, think."_

She brought her hand up to her head and shut her eyes, searching through all of her memories for anything that related to the name Aquarius. She had some hazy recollection that Aquarius had something to do with water, and that the name belonged to a Zodiac Spirit.

Finally, the pieces clicked into her brain when she remembered the name, "Tartaros".

* * *

 _Eight years ago…_

 _A six-year-old Alu was in her parents' room, rummaging around in her mother's dresser drawers. Every now and then, she would pull out something like a necklace or bracelet and put it on herself to see what it looked like. She opened of different jewelry boxes and pulled out all kinds of beautiful things like pearl necklaces, bracelets ordained with diamonds or other gemstones, and dainty little earrings._

 _Of course, they were all made of imitation pearls, diamonds, and other gemstones. But as a little six-year-old, Alu couldn't tell the difference between what was real or fake._

 _It wasn't long before she decked herself out in twelve different bracelets and had about seven different necklaces around her neck. The only things she left alone were the earrings._

 _Eventually, Alu picked up a small wooden box that had water waves ornately carved all over it. She opened the lid and expected to find a pair of earrings or a diamond ring._

 _But to her surprise, the box contained something that looked like a golden key hilt with a strange blue insignia on it._

 _Blinking in curiosity, Alu took it out of the box and held it in her hand for a moment or two. She turned in over and over, studying ever single detail and trying to makes sense of what she was holding._

 _"What's this?" she asked out loud._

 _"Oh, Alu!" a voice laughed._

 _Alu turned around when she heard her name called and saw her mother standing in the door way. Lucy had an amused smile on her face when she saw that the little girl was decorated with her jewelry. She shook her head and sighed. She then walked over to Alu, knelt down to her level, and began to gently take all the jewelry off of her._

 _"Honestly," Lucy said with a laugh, "if you wanted to borrow some of my jewelry, you should've just asked. That is the polite thing to do."_

 _"I'm sorry, Mommy." Alu said. "I just wanted to see if I could be as pretty as you."_

 _Lucy looked up at Alu with surprise before giving a modest smile. She then placed a hand on the side of her daughter's face._

 _"You're very pretty the way you are, sweetheart," she said._

 _Alu smiled at the compliment._

 _She then suddenly remembered the key hilt she was holding._

 _"Hey, Mommy," she said. "Can you tell me what this is? I found it in that little box and I was just wondering what it is."_

 _Alu offered the broken key to her mother. The moment Lucy saw what Alu had found, she gave a sharp gasp and cupped a hand over her mouth. Tears began to brim her eyes._

 _"Mommy," Alu frowned with concern, "are you okay?"_

 _Lucy closed her eyes and wiped her tears away. When she opened her eyes again, she gently took the key hilt out of Alu's little hands. She stared at it for a long while before taking in a deep breath._

 _"I'm surprised you found this," she said in a sad tone. "But…I guess I was going to tell you eventually."_

 _"Tell me what?" Alu asked._

 _Lucy stood up and walked over to the large bed behind her. She sat down on the edge of it and ushered for Alu to come over. Alu obeyed and took a seat next to her mother. Lucy looked as if she was about to speak, but then hesitated._

 _"Mommy?"_

 _Finally, Lucy took in another deep inhale of air and looked down at the key hilt resting in the palm of her hand._

 _"Alu," she said softly, "do you remember when your father and I told you about the Tartaros invasion?"_

 _"Uh-huh." Alu nodded._

 _"Well, this is connected to that." Lucy continued, her voice getting more and more emotional with every word she spoke. "Your father, along with many others, were being held prisoner by several of the Demons that attacked us. When I was the only one left to save them, I used this key to summon a Zodiac Spirit called Aquarius the Water Bearer, in hopes that she could help. Unfortunately, neither she, nor Loke or Virgo, were strong enough to defeat the Demons we faced. Aquarius told me the only way to stop Tartaros was to summon the Celestial Spirit King. However, he does not have a key of his own. So, the price was to break a Zodiac Key. And Aquarius…she told me to…"_

 _Lucy stopped for a moment and brought her hand up to her mouth. She began to tremble as she fought back the urge to cry._

 _Alu didn't need her mother to tell her the rest of what happened. For the evidence was right in front of her. She had to break Aquarius's key to summon the Celestial Spirit King._

 _Sensing her mother's emotional pain, Alu scooched over closer and hugged her. Lucy looked down at her daughter and wrapped one arm around her, kissing her on the head at the same time._

 _"I'm sorry, Mommy." Alu said caringly, looking up at Lucy with compassion in her eyes. "Aquarius must've been very special to you."_

 _Lucy nodded, "She was my very first Celestial Spirit. And my first friend. Although I have to say, she was really temperamental. There were times when she would get miffed with me and threaten to wash me away with the tide more than once. Still, she was a loyal friend, even if she did say she hated me."_

 _Alu looked up with befuddlement and blinked. That didn't sound like a loyal friend to her. Since when does a loyal friend say that they hate your guts to your face unless it was out of playful banter? And given what Lucy had told her, Alu didn't think that Aquarius didn't just say that out of playful banter._

 _Lucy noticed Alu's reaction and gave a small laugh._

 _"I'm sorry," she said, "I was just thinking on the past. Don't worry about what I said. You'll understand when your older."_

 _Alu's response to that was a pouty face. That only made Lucy laugh even more._

 _"You know, Alu," she giggled, "you look just like your father when you make that face."_

 _"You guys talkin' about me?"_

 _Alu and Lucy both turned around and saw Natsu leaning up against the side of door, looking at the two of them with his signature grin._

 _"No," Lucy replied with a smile, "just reminiscing on the past. Something wrong?"_

 _"Nah," Natsu shook his head, "just came to get Alu. I promised I'd teach her hand-to-hand combat today."_

 _"Oh yeah, that's right!" Alu exclaimed. "Let's go right now!"_

 _Alu quickly got up, ran across the bed and jumped off of it, landing directly in front of him._

 _"Okay, kiddo." Natsu laughed. "Here we go."_

 _Natsu then bent down and picked Alu up by her waist. She laughed at the thrill of being lifted up and wrapped her arms around his neck after he adjusted her securely in his arms._

 _"Just be careful with her, Natsu." Lucy cautioned. "Remember, she's still just a little girl."_

 _"Oh, don't worry so much, Lucy." Natsu replied nonchalantly. "Don't forget, Alu's a Dragneel. She's as tough as they come."_

 _"That's right!" Alu declared proudly. "I'm a Dragneel! I can take a hit!"_

 _"That may be true," Lucy said, putting her hands on her hips, "but I still don't want you to get yourself hurt. And Natsu, I don't want you getting too rough with her. She's our only child after all."_

 _"Don't worry," Natsu shrugged casually, "it'll just be some basic techniques and exercises. I promise we won't do any direct contact."_

 _"Aw, c'mon, Daddy!" Alu whined. "I want to learn how to really fight! I can do it!"_

 _Natsu looked at his daughter with a smirk._

 _"Think of it this way," he said, "once you've mastered the basics, then you can take a shot at sparing with me someday. But you've got to work hard at it, understand?"_

 _Alu's mood quickly changed to eagerness. The idea of fighting her father in a dual to show off strength resonated very well with her._

 _"You bet!" she grinned. "Let's go!"_

 _With that, Natsu carried Alu out of the room and headed toward the main door of the house._

* * *

 _Back to the present…_

"That's right," Alu said out loud, her voice very pensive. "I was so excited about learning how to fight that I completely forgot about the key. And Mom…that was the first time I saw her on the verge of crying. I still can't believe she had to break a Celestial Key like that. Hold on, now that I think about it, she and Dad have mentioned a few times about looking for a key that had been reborn. But so far, they haven't found it. I wonder…"

Alu looked over on her desk at her own set of Celestial Keys and walked over to them. She took a golden key off the of the keychain and held it in her hand for a moment.

"I might not have a contract with Crux," she whispered, "but you've always helped me out in the past. And being a Zodiac Spirit, you might know something about this. Hopefully that is. Of course, if I summon you now, Mom will sense it and think I'm up to no good again. I'll have to wait until later tonight when she and Dad are asleep. I just hope my hunch is right."


	7. Chapter 7: A Hunch

**Chapter 7**

 **A Hunch**

It was around ten thirty at night when Alu opened her door just a crack. She had been quiet for a long time, hoping that she would fool her parents into thinking she was asleep. And it seemed to have worked, for neither one came into her room the entire evening.

But for Alu, who couldn't sit still and do nothing for very long, it was the most agonizing wait of her life. She hated being still for so long with nothing to do. It made her feel like she was trapped in a cage where boredom was the torture method.

At least it was over now.

Now, Alu was listening for the definite sign that both of her parents were sleeping.

And that sign was the sound of her father snoring and nothing else. Alu gave a grimaced smirk when her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of Natsu snoring loudly. He sounded like a Magic mobile with a bad motor.

 _"Geez,"_ Alu thought to herself, _"I'm amazed Mom can sleep through that. I can hear it from all the way down hall. Then again, I have Dragon hearing and Mom doesn't. So that might make a bit of a difference, but still. Anyway, now's my chance. Even if Mom's not asleep, Dad's snoring should cover up any noise I make."_

After closing the door with the utmost care, Alu walked into the center of her room.

She then held out her golden key and commanded in a low voice, "Open, Gate of the Golden Ram. Aries."

The Zodiac Key glowed golden yellow for a moment. Then Aries appeared in a puff of pink smoke.

Aries was about as tall as Alu herself, if not slightly taller. She had snowy white skin, purplish-brown eyes, cotton-candy pink hair that fluffed out at the end, and two twisted brown horns on each side of her head. She wore a woolly tube-dress with matching boots that went up to her knees along with yellow leggings.

"Good evening, Alu," Aries said in a soft, cute voice. "Is something you need me to do for you?"

Alu smiled brightly when she saw her friend.

"Hey, Aries. Great to see you again," she said. "But if you don't mind, could you please keep your voice down? I don't want to wake my parents up."

"Oh, yes of course!" Aries replied in a whisper, becoming flustered. "I'm sorry! I'll keep quiet!"

"Whoa, relax," Alu whispered calmly, "it's not that big of a deal. I just had a question to ask you."

Upon hearing that, Aries looked up at Alu with curiosity.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry if this is rude, but I would think you'd summon Capricorn for something like this," she replied tentatively.

"Yeah," Alu shrugged, "but it's been a while since I've summoned you. Besides, I think you could help me on a question like this. I'm sure Capricorn would understand."

Alu then looked bitterly down at the floor and grumbled, "Not to mention, summoning Capricorn takes a lot of my Celestial Magic. And I exhausted a lot of it on Gemini today."

"I see." Aries nodded. "Well, what is it you wanted to ask me?"

Alu looked Aries straight in the face.

"Do you know a Zodiac Spirit by the name of Aquarius?" she asked.

The moment Alu said that name, Aries jerked in surprise. She then stared at the young human girl with wide eyes.

"Um…" she hesitated. "I'm sorry, but did you say…Aquarius?"

"Yeah." Alu nodded slowly. "I overheard my mom mentioned something about Aquarius and a broken key earlier. I remember Mom told me about how she had to break Aquarius's Key to summon the Celestial Spirit King during the time Tartaros invaded, but she and Dad have talked about finding her key a few times. From what I can remember, Mom said that it was possible for Celestial Keys to be remade and appear somewhere else in the world."

"Huh?" Aries blinked, confused. "I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?"

Alu stopped and stared at Aries. Something in the Golden Ram's face gave Alu a bad feeling.

"Don't Celestial Keys get reborn if they've been destroyed?" Alu asked carefully.

Aries slowly shook her head, "I'm sorry, but who told her that?"

"You gotta be kidding me." Alu said, stunned. "Aquarius said to my mom that her key had been remade in another part of the world. You're telling me she lied to her?"

Aries stared at Alu with an uncomfortable expression. While she was trying to think of what to say next, Alu took the silence as proof of her assumption. An angry expression quickly came over her face and she began to shake with fury and her hands curled up into tight fists.

"Why that lousy, no good Spirit!" she raged in the quietest voice possible. "Lying to my mom like that! I know she said she hated my mom, but that's just low! If I ever see her I'm gonna knock her flat!"

Aries quickly saw her friend's anger increasing and became afraid. Alu was already beginning to have an aura of pale flames swirling around her. Aries had seen what happened when Alu got enraged. Needless to say, it was never a pretty sight. Not to mention, Alu can get really scary when she's mad.

Aries had to say something quick to calm her friend down, and fast.

"Alu, Aquarius isn't a liar!" the Golden Ram Spirit said quickly.

Alu paused, causing her flames to disappear. She looked back up at Aries with a confused expression that still had traces of her fury left in it.

Aries swallowed hard. Alu wasn't completely calm, but she was at least at a point where she would listen to some reason.

"I know that Aquarius and Lucy never saw eye-to-eye on a lot of things," Aries said timidly, "but Aquarius would never lie to her. None of the Spirits would ever lie to their key holders. I'm she had her reasons for saying that her key would appear again. You know, just giving your mother a sliver of hope that they would meet in the future."

Alu narrowed her eyes suspiciously. That explanation kind of made sense, but it still ticked her off that Aquarius would give Lucy hope in the form of a half-truth. Especially since Lucy clearly took the statement of the Water Bearer's Key being reborn literarily. Now the thing just seemed like a wild goose-chase to Alu.

But if Aquarius said her key would be reborn, then just what did she mean be that? What was another way an object could be "reborn"?

Alu brought her hand up to her chin and thought for a second. A key being reborn. What else could that mean?

Suddenly, a hunch came into Alu's head.

"Hey, Aries," Alu said, "I've got one more question for you. If Celestial Keys can't be reborn on their own, is it possible for them to be repaired?"

Aries gasped in shock at that question. That really caught her off guard.

"W-Well, I don't know!" the Spirit stuttered, her voice rising just a bit. "I guess it's possible, but I'm not really sure! I'm sorry! I just don't know how to answer that-!"

"Whoa, easy, Aries," Alu interrupted, trying to sound as soothing as she could, "I didn't mean to startle you with that. It's just that since I thought since Celestial Keys had to come from somewhere, it could be possible for broken ones to be re-forged, right?"

Aries thought for a moment before saying, "Yeah, I guess so. But I honestly can't answer that for you."

"Well, do you know of someone who could?" Alu asked.

Aries lowered her gaze and bit her lips. That was a sure sign for Alu that her Celestial Spirit friend did know of someone who could answer her question. Aries just wasn't sure if she should say it.

Finally, Aries gave a small nod and looked back up Alu.

"It would be the Celestial Spirit King." Aries answered.

"Of course." Alu said, snapping her fingers. "Why didn't I think of that before? Aries, can you take me to the Celestial World so I can ask him about it?"

"What?!" Aries shrieked loudly.

Alu jumped at that and leapt forward quickly to cup her hand over Aries mouth.

"Shh!" the girl shushed.

Alu listened intently for a moment for any sound that would tell her that one or both of her parents had woken up. She was really hoping that they didn't hear Aries. She really didn't want to be caught right now, not when she was on to something very important. And considering the trouble she already in with her parents, she wouldn't put it past her mother to take away her Celestial Keys as punishment. And that would ruin everything.

Luckily, much to Alu's relief, there was no disturbance. She let out a long-sustained breath of air and took her hand away from Aries's mouth.

"Sorry about that," she whispered, "but could you try to shriek a little quieter next time?"

"Of course, I'm sorry!" Aries replied in a hushed voice. "It's just that…well…you know that a human entering the Spirit World is a breach of contract."

"But this rule can be lifted under certain circumstances, right?" Alu pointed out. "Mom and Dad have told me of all the times they have been to the Celestial World before. I just want to ask the Celestial King if he knows anything about repairing Celestial Keys. Surely, he would let me in for that."

Aries gave a small moan of uncertainty and twiddled her fingers. She was already uncomfortable with Alu firing off so many question in a row like a Magic machine gun. And she wasn't really sure about the wizard's request either. Aries had never requested an audience with the Celestial Spirit King before, let alone brought a human into the Celestial World. Although it wasn't considered a deplorable act, she could still be seriously punished for it.

Still, that look in Alu's eyes was enough to tell the Golden Ram Spirit that her key holder was eager to find out the truth. And if there was one thing Aries knew about Alu, it was that once she got an idea in her head, there was no stopping her.

"Well," Aries said at last, "I guess I could ask the Celestial Spirit King if he would have an audience with you. I don't want to break any rules or anything, but I guess there would be know harm in asking. Would that be okay?"

"Yeah, that'd be fine." Alu replied. "But could please be quick. I really need to know."

It was then that a deep, commanding voice resounded in both Aries and Alu's heads.

 ** _"Aries,"_**

Both Aries and Alu jumped and gasped in shock. They looked at each other with wide, startled eyes. Aries quickly recognized the voice and began to shiver.

"C-Celestial Spirit King?!" the Golden Ram Spirit squeaked, her voice spiking with fear.

 ** _"Do not be afraid,"_** the voice said. **_"Your key holder wishes to know if about repairing Celestial Keys, does she not?"_**

"Y-Yes, sir." Alu answered, trying to get over the fact that she was freaked out about hearing a voice in her head. "I was hoping you could tell me about that. I know humans entering the Spirit World is against contract, but could you make an exception this time? I really need to know. If you know anything about re-forging Celestial Keys, then please you tell me."

There was a long silence. This made Alu nervous. Was the Celestial Spirit King going to reject her request? If so, then what would she do?

 ** _"Very well then, young one,"_** the Celestial Spirit King replied, his voice sounding kind. **_"I grant you passage to the Celestial World. I promise that I will answer your question. Aries, please bring her back with you."_**

"Oh, yes sir." Aries answered with an obedient nod. "Right away."

Both Alu and Aries waited for a moment to hear if the Celestial Spirit King had anything else to say to them. When he didn't respond, they both looked at each other and nodded.

"Well, we better get going." Aries said.

"Right." Alu replied with determination.

Aries then reached out a hand towards Alu. With a small smirk, Alu took it without hesitation.

Then, in a small flash of gold light, both human and Spirit vanished from the room.


	8. Chapter 8: Alu and the Water Bearer

**Chapter 8**

 **Alu and the Water Bearer**

In just the blink of an eye, Alu found herself standing on a platform that seemed to be floating inside a fantasy world. For a moment, she stood where she was with a look of awe and wonder on her face. Alu had never see the Spirit World for herself before. Though she had often heard stories of it from her parents and other members of the guild who had been there in the past, she could never quite picture what the world itself was like.

It was certainly unlike anything she had ever seen. It exceeded all of her expectations in every way. It wasn't just beautiful, it was gorgeous.

All around her were planet-like orbs that seemed to levitate in a bluish-black void. There were crystals and star-shaped patterns that glowed the radiant colors of green, blue, pink, and purple.

It was certainly a dreamy kind of place.

And while Alu couldn't explain it, she felt somewhat at home in this world.

Alu gave an impressed whistle before saying, "Wow, I'm really diggin' your world, Aries. I could get used to this place."

"I'm glad you like it, Alu." Aries replied. "And I must say that Celestial Garments look really good on you."

Alu gave a confused expression when Aries said that last part and looked down at herself. She blinked in surprised when she saw that her cloths had changed from her usual ones. She was now dressed in a sleeveless black and yellow kimono that went down to the middle of her thighs. She also wore white leggings and black sandals.

"Huh, didn't expect this to happen," she said, looking over herself. "Oh well, it looks cool so whatever."

"I'm glad you like it." Aries smiled. "Now we should probably go to see the Celestial Spirit King. It's not polite to keep him waiting."

"Sure thing." Alu nodded.

However, before Alu and Aries even took so much as a step, The Celestial Spirit King himself appeared just beyond the platform the two were standing on. Alu took in a sharp breath of air when she saw him.

He was the largest Spirit that she had ever seen in her life. He was definitely larger than the Kardia Cathedral in Magnolia. He wore a set of thick armor that was decorated with star and sun patterns. His main colors consisted of stellar-white, jade-green, and sunset-yellow. His face was stoic and blank, and he had ruby red eyes.

But the thing that Alu noticed the most was his large, snowy-white mustache. It was the longest mustache she had ever seen. It went down well past his shoulders and it bristled out on the ends.

Normally, Alu would've snickered at something like that. However, since this was her first time seeing the Celestial Spirit King, she was too amazed to make any kind of joke about his facial hair.

Upon seeing the ruler of the Spirit World, Aries bowed deeply out of respect.

"Great Celestial Spirit King," she said, sounding just a little nervous, "I have done what you've ordered. This is my key holder, Alu Dragneel."

The Celestial Spirit King looked down at Alu. At she assumed he was looking down at her. Without any pupils in those red eyes of his, she couldn't quite tell.

For a while, he said nothing. He just stared at her with a blank expression. He then narrowed his eyes in what looked like suspicion.

 **"Young one,"** he said, his voice was deep and powerful. **"You have some kind of connection to Lucy Heartfilla, do you not?"**

"Yeah." Alu nodded. "You know her?"

 **"Indeed, I do,"** the Celestial Spirit King answered. **"She's an old friend of mine."**

Alu gave a big smile and said, "That's awesome. She's actually my mom. Only she's called Lucy Dragneel, now."

 **"Hmm,"** the Spirit King sounded like he was amazed. **"Then your father is the Dragon Slayer of Fire. Natsu Dragneel."**

"Yep," the girl said proudly, placing her hands on her hips. "The one and only."

The Celestial Spirit King fell silent for a moment and looked thoughtfully at Alu. Alu herself didn't notice this, but he had a look of deep contemplation in his eyes.

"Um," Aries spoke up softly, "I don't mean to interrupt this, but you had a question for the Celestial Spirit King, Alu."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Alu said, remembering why she came to the Celestial World in the first place. "Celestial Spirit King, I wanted to ask you if it is possible to repair broken Celestial Keys. I mean, they must've been forged sometime in the past to be begin with, right? So, is there any way that they can be re-forged if they've been damaged?"

The Celestial Spirit King looked at Alu for another long moment.

 **"You wish to repair a Celestial Spirit key?"** he said. **"Which one?"**

"Aquarius's Key." Alu explained. "My mom told me about Tartaros and how she had to break Aquarius's Key to summon you. I understand why she did it, but I also know that it hurt her to do that. Is there a way I can repair that key?"

 **"I see,"** the Celestial Spirit King replied in a low voice. **"You want to re-forge this key for your mother."**

"Yeah," Alu nodded sharply, "that's right."

There was a small pause. In that silence, Alu swallowed hard. Why wasn't the Celestial Spirit King answering her? The lack of response made her uneasy.

Finally, the Celestial Spirit King spoke again.

 **"What you are requesting is a difficult task, but it's not impossible."**

Alu heart thumped with hope when she heard that. Did that mean there was a way?

 **"But to understand how to re-forge Celestial Keys,"** the Spirit King continued, **"there is something I must tell you. Long ago, the Celestial World and Earth Land were not always connected the way they are now. They were simply parallel worlds. But one day, a Spirit from this world somehow found their way into Earth Land and befriended a human. That human became the first Celestial Wizard. And it was they who forged the Celestial Keys."**

Alu was listening very intently now.

 **"Those keys were all created in the same place: The Valley of Gates."**

"The Valley of Gates?" Alu repeated, mesmerized.

 **"Yes."** the Celestial King nodded. **"It is a place that only Celestial Wizards can enter. While I sense a second Magic Power within you, your Celestial Magic should allow you to enter it. It is a three-day journey eastward from the city of Magnolia. If you wish to repair the Celestial Key, then you will need to travel the Valley of Gates with the Spirit that is connected to the broken key. For it was the combine power of a Celestial Wizard and Spirit that created a key in the beginning. If you want to repair Aquarius's Key, then she will need to accompany you on this quest."**

Alu narrowed her eyes in a pensive manner. At the same time, there was an apprehensive tint in her expression.

Beside her, Aries began to fidget nervously, showing that she already had a bad feeling about this. She had seen how angry Alu got when she thought that Aquarius had lied to her mother about her key being reborn. Aries also remembered that Alu threatened to knock Aquarius flat if she so much as looked at her. Of course, Alu had calmed down since that moment, but the Golden Ram Spirit could still see a hint of resentment in her eyes.

Finally, Alu closed her eyes and nodded before looking back up at the Celestial Spirit King.

"Okay," she said with conviction. "If that's the only way, then I'll do it."

 **"Very well, then,"** the Spirit King said. **"But first, I must consult with Aquarius to see if she is willing to agree to the same plan."**

"Oh dear," Aries shuddered softly. "Alu, promise me you won't…"

"I won't, Aries." Alu interrupted, knowing what Aries was going to ask her. "At least not yet."

The Celestial Spirit King then turned his head upwards.

 **"Aquarius the Water Bearer!"** he commanded strongly. **"I beckon you here at once! Come forth with haste!"**

Almost immediately, there was a swirl of water droplets and light, a tall mermaid Spirit appeared beside Alu, making the girl step back in surprise.

She had a blue fish tail decorated with scales, something that looked like a mini skirt held together by a gold belt around her waist, and she wore a blue and white bikini top. Her eyes were piercing azure. Her hair was sea-blue, and it went all the way down to her waist. She had a pair of golden arm bracelets, on each of her upper and lower arms. Around her head was a gold and silver circlet with a purple gem dangling in the middle, and she had aquamarine earrings.

Under her right arm, she carried a round, silver urn.

Alu didn't need to be told who this was. She already deduced that it was Aquarius the Water Bearer.

"You summoned me, Great Celestial King?" the water asked in a rather firm voice, bowing in respect to her ruler. "Is there something wrong?"

 **"Old friend,"** the Spirit King said in response, **"this human girl has come to me with the request of repairing your Celestial Key."**

Aquarius looked up in surprise at the King before turning to see the girl in question. The moment she met Alu's dark green eyes, her expression changed for a brief moment to shock. It was quick, but Alu managed to catch it before the Water Spirit gave a suspicious glare.

"No, you couldn't be," she muttered to herself.

"Uh," Alu hesitated, "excuse me? You're Aquarius, right?"

Aquarius glanced at Alu for a moment before turning away in disgust.

"Maybe," she said hotly, "who wants to know?"

Alu was slightly taken aback by Aquarius's sudden mood change. At the same time, she became insulted. She planted her feet firmly on the ground as she narrowed her eyes and put her fists on her hips.

"Me, of course," she replied firmly. "You were once contracted to my mom."

Aquarius turned her head and looked at Alu with a ambiguous expression.

"Who's your mother?" she asked, sounding like she was doubtful.

"Lucy." Alu answered. "Lucy Heartfillia."

At the sound of that name, Aquarius's eyebrows lifted for second. She then gave an annoyed look.

"You're that blonde bimbo's daughter?!" she said harshly.

"She's not a bimbo!" Alu snapped back.

Aquarius narrowed her eyes before giving sarcastic face.

"Well, I'm shocked she ever managed to have a child," she said, sounding dissmissive. "She must've really been desperate to get a boyfriend."

Alu gave a highly offended look. She then scowled so deeply that it looked like she was trying to split the skin on her face apart.

Aquarius might not have said it, but the girl knew what she meant by what she said.

"WHY YOU…!" she shouted angrily, preventing herself from cursing at the last second. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK! SHE'S MARRIED TO MY DAD, NATSU DRAGNEEL, F-Y-I! AND I WAS BORN LONG AFTER THEY WERE MARRIED!"

Aquarius looked at Alu for a moment with a kind of hidden surprise. She quickly concealed it with an annoyed frown.

"So your dad's the pink-haired pyromaniac, huh?" she said dryly. "I guess I should've known; you look so much like him that it really gives it away. And I can see you also inherited his boisterous attitude as well. Guess I should've expected that from any kid of his."

Alu's scowl deepened and she growled with fury.

This Spirit had the nerve to say those things about her parents! Alu was not going to let her get away with that!

The girl's hand flared up with Dragon Slayer Fire and she moved in to attack Aquarius. However, before she took another step, Aries ran up from behind and grabbed Alu by the waist and shoulder and held her back. Alu struggled furiously to get free.

"LET ME AT HER!" she screamed with rage. "I'LL KNOCK HER FLAT!"

"Alu, please get a hold of yourself!" Aries pleaded, straining to keep Alu from slipping out of her grasp. "This isn't the time to fight! Don't forget you have to get back to your world before your parents realize your gone!"

Alu stopped struggling and the pale fire around her fist disappeared instantly. She let out a frustrated grunt and relaxed her limbs. Aries felt the tension leave Alu's body and she slowly let her go. However, the scowl on Alu's face didn't fade. She glowered at Aquarius.

"Just so you know, I'm not going to forget that!" she warned, jabbing a finger at the Water Spirit.

"Whatever." Aquarius scoffed, turning her head away. "You don't scare me at all."

What Alu didn't see was that after she had said that, Aquarius gave a small grin like she was pleased with something.

 **"Aquarius,"** the Celestial Spirit King interrupted, reminding everyone he was still there, **"if you wish to have your key repaired, then you will have to accompany this young Celestial Wizard to the Valley of Gates. But I leave this choice to you. Do you want to have your key re-forged?"**

Alu's narrowed her eyes with disdain at Aquarius. For a split second, she was sure that Aquarius would refuse the offer. Well, that was find by Alu. As far as she was concerned, this Spirit was just flat-out arrogant and selfish. And now that she saw her in person, Alu couldn't believe that her mother would ever want this Spirit back. Lucy would be better off without her.

However, Alu was in for a surprise.

"Yes." Aquarius answered immediately, looking back up at the King. "I would like to have my key repaired. And if this is the only way, then I will do it."

At the sound of that, Alu's eyes widened a bit. She quickly reverted her face back to a scowl right afterwards though.

 **"Very well, then,"** the Celestial Spirit King nodded. **"Now that you both have consented to go on this mission, we will begin preparations. Human girl, you must retrieve the remains of Aquarius's Key as soon as you get back to your world."**

Alu frowned, but she didn't argue. Nor did she made any notion to refuse.

"Yes, sir," she said stiffly.

 **"Aquarius,"** the King continued, **"before you go, I must speak with you. In the meantime, you, human girl, must return to your world. Once you are there, begin to set out on your journey at once."**

Alu nodded in understanding.

Then in less time then it took for her heart to beat, Alu disappeared in flash of light.

She immediately found herself back in her room. She blinked a few times as her eyes tried to adjust to the sudden darkness. Once they had, she turned the lamp on her desk on. She looked down at herself and realized that she was back in her regular cloths. Probably because she was out of the Celestial World now, so she had no need for those fancy garments.

Alu then looked over at the clock. Even though she knew that it was still nighttime, she wanted to know just how much time had passed since she went to the Spirit World.

"Three thirty?" she whispered to herself. "So I was gone for about…five hours? Oh wait, I remember. Time flows differently in that world than here. Oh well, at least I still have time before my parents wake up."

Alu sighed heavily.

"Of course, had I known what Aquarius was like before," she mumbled miserably, "I probably would've thought twice about this. Man, what have I gotten myself into this time?"

The girl closed her eyes and pinched her eyebrows together with her thumb and index finger. Was this really worth it? She was already starting to loathe Aquarius with a fiery passion before she even met her. And that meeting just raised her ire for the Spirit even higher. Those things that she said about Alu's parents just about sent the young wizard over the edge. If Aries hadn't been there, Alu would've strangled Aquarius.

Alu also had a depressing feeling that she and Aquarius would be at each other's throats for the whole journey. It was clear to Alu that Aquarius probably hated her as much as she hated Lucy.

Still…

"I did make a promise." Alu said, opening her eyes a bit. "And I never break a promise. So whether I like or not, I'm going to follow through on this. I don't care if it kills me or drives me to insanity. I WILL keep that promise."

With that resolve, Alu reached for her backpack.

There was no turning back now. She had to go through with this. And she was going to, no matter what.


	9. Chapter 9: Run Away

**Chapter 9**

 **Run Away**

After Alu packed her backpack with a spare blanket and a few selected essentials from her room, she stood where she was for a moment and took in a few deep breaths. She had to prepare herself for the hardest task of all: sneaking into her parents' room and taking Aquarius's key from her mother's dresser without waking them up.

Alu swallowed hard and wiped the sweat from her palms onto her vest. She knew that she was going to have to be extremely careful with this task. It wasn't her mother she was worried about catching her.

It was her father.

Natsu and Alu both had Dragon-like senses. This meant that Natsu had ears like a bat. It didn't matter if he was a heavy sleeper, if he ever heard anything out of the ordinary, he would be wide awake in a second.

Alu remembered a time when some burglars were dumb enough to break into the house about three years ago. They only got as far as sneaking in through one of the windows before they were met with a fully awake, and fully enraged, Natsu. They didn't even have time to steal anything. The moment he heard them open the window, he was up and out of bed like a shot.

Fortunately for Alu, unlike those bumbling burglars, she was a pretty good sneak. After all, she was able to steal all the drinks from behind the bar yesterday, and go unnoticed for two hours. That took skill, if she did say so herself.

Of course, this mission she was about to take had more riding on it that simple prank did. She would have to rely on all of her sneaking skills for this one.

"Okay," Alu whispered, "let's get this over with."

After carefully opening her door, Alu crept down the hall. Rolling her feet from heel to toe with each step she took, she snuck to her parents' room. It was open just a crack, which was good for Alu. It meant she didn't have to worry about turning the knob. Still, she had to be careful when opening it. Slowly, cautiously, she pushed the door open. Much to her relief, it didn't make so much as a squeak. When she opened it wide enough for her to slip through, she side-stepped into the room.

She stood where she was for a moment, holding her breath and pressing herself up against the wall. Even though the room was dark, and only had limited amount of moonlight spilling in from the windows, Alu could tell that both of her parents were asleep. Natsu had stopped snoring by now and was just breathing as regularly as any other person sleeping soundly would.

So far so good.

However, when Alu looked up, she frowned instantly. Her mother's dresser was clear on the other side of the room.

Of course it would be all the way over there. This situation was just didn't want to be easy. Alu had be extra careful now. She would have to use every last trick in the book to get to the dresser and back without getting caught.

Alu crouched down on all fours and began to crawl. Hardly daring to breath, she began to make her way around the bed and towards the dresser. She stuck as close to framework of the bed as she could to conceal herself from her parents' line of vision in case they happen to wake up. It should be able to work, considering how dark the room was. And provided that Natsu's keen sense of smell would still be dulled by sleep.

As Alu neared the furthest bedpost, she heard her father begin to stir. She froze right where she was, feeling her heart-rate spike in alarm. She cupped her hand over her mouth and nose to prevent herself from breathing loudly. She waited for one fearful moment to see what would happen. Luckily, her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of him just groaning and turning over onto his other side. She waited for a second to see if he would do anything else.

Nothing happened.

Alu let out a relieved, silent breath of air and slowly stood up. She then crept over to her mother's dresser. She stopped for a second. She had to remember which one the key hilt was in. At last, she remembered that it was in the drawer on the upper left-hand corner.

Alu grabbed the handle of the drawer, and it easily slide open without making much of a sound. She couldn't see very well inside the compartment, but she was afraid to use her Dragon Fire for light. She would have to feel for it. She remembered what the box looked like and how it felt in her hands before. So all she had to do was feel for the box with the wave patterns carved into it. Alu just hoped that Lucy didn't put it under anything. That would complicate things even more.

Gently, Alu began to feel for that box. She lightly touched all of the contents within the space for any sign of her intended target, but all she was feeling was necklaces, rings, bracelets, watches, and other large jewelry boxes. Cold sweat began to form on her face with each passing moment. Now she was really worried that her parents were going to wake up any moment.

She was about to lose her nerve when her hand landed on a small cube-shaped object. Feeling a thrill of hope, she felt all around the exterior and felt the wavy carvings. This was the box, it had to be.

Alu picked it up and immediately opened it. She smiled brightly and her eyes seemed to sparkle when she saw that it contained the hilt of Aquarius's key.

She found it!

Alu was so elated by her accomplishment that she almost forgot about the situation she was in. The moment she picked the key out…

The box slipped out of her hand and fell into the dresser drawer with a small wooden "clank".

Alu jumped in alarm and turned around sharply. To her horror, the sound had wakened her father. Even though he was turned away from her, she could hear him starting to wake up.

She had to hide before he saw her! But where?!

With time running out, Alu looked around franticly for a place to conceal herself.

* * *

Drowsily, Natsu sat up and looked around. He was sure that he had heard something like a small woody crash, but he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Then again, the room was dark and he couldn't really see much. Except for what the moonlight allowed his eyes to see.

However, Natsu did manage to see that one of Lucy's dresser drawers was open. Curiously, he removed the covers and swung he legs over the side of the bed. His upper body was completely bare. All he had on was a pair of loose pants that went down to his ankles. He slowly stood up and walked over to the dresser. When he reached it, he lazily raised an eyebrow.

Was that open before? He tried to remember if it was, but his mind was still groggy.

He pushed the drawer closed and looked around again. Still he saw nothing. And his senses were still rather drowsy, so he couldn't really get a clear smell of anything other than what was inches in front of him, which wasn't much at all.

Finally, he just gave a shrug, dismissing the noise as just his imagination. He then turned around and walked back to the bed.

However, although Natsu had looked all over the room, there was one crucial direction he didn't think to look.

Up.

* * *

Holding herself flat up against the ceiling, Alu pressed her hands and feet up and out against the rafters with all the strength she had. The look on her face was one of near-comical terror, and her whole body was beginning to shake from both the adrenaline coursing through her, and the force of her muscles trying to keep her from slipping.

Just before her father had gotten up and turned around, Alu had swiftly leapt up on to the dresser and jumped up to the ceiling. There, she watched agonizingly as Natsu made his way to the dresser. Her heart nearly stopped beating entirely when he stopped directly under her and turned his head in every direction for any sign of her.

The whole time, she was just praying and hoping that he would not look up.

Finally, much to Alu's deflating relief, her father just gave a shrug and went back to bed. She was also lucky that he decided lay down on his side instead of his back. In just few seconds, he was out like a light.

That…was too close. If Natsu hadn't put her through a lot of endurance and muscle tone training ever since she was little, she never would've been able to pull this off.

Taking in another deep, soundless breath of air, Alu braced herself and let herself drop down to the ground. Her feet barely made any noise when they made contact with the floor. She got back down on all fours and snuck out of the room. She took only a moment or two to catch her breath before creeping back to her room.

Knowing that Happy was sleeping out in the living room, and not wanting to have another sneak that could possibly give her a panic attack, Alu decided to leave by way of her bedroom window. After silently closing her door, and gathering up her backpack and Celestial Keys, she carefully opened the window to her room and jumped out into the the coolness and stillness of the night.

Alu ran just a few yards away from the house and took in deep, refreshing breath of nighttime air.

"Ah, glad that's over," she said out loud to herself. "Now all I need to do now is wait for Aquarius, and we're on our way."

Just then, a snooty, arrogant voice came from behind Alu.

"Tch, _you_ wait for _me_?"

Alu jumped and sharply caught her breath to keep herself from screaming. She whipped around to see Aquarius and Aries standing just behind her. She scowled at Aquarius. It was the Water Spirit's voice that startled Alu, and she knew that it was on purpose.

"Don't scare me like that!" Alu snapped at Aquarius. "I've already almost had a heart-attack trying to get your stupid key!"

"Well, you sure took your sweet time getting it." Aquarius said self-righteously. "We've been waiting for you for the past hour."

Alu snarled at the remark. It didn't take her that long to retrieve Aquarius's key hilt and that pompous Spirit knew it.

But before Alu could snap back, Aries quickly stepped forward.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to be assertive in her own little shy way, "but shouldn't we get going?"

"Hold on, you're coming with us?" Alu asked the Golden Ram Spirit, becoming curious. "I'd thought you'd stay in the Spirit World until I summoned you."

"Well, um," Aries replied coyly, twiddling her fingers, "the Celestial Spirit King said I could join you. I just want to make sure…I just want us all to get along. And don't worry about losing Magic, I can use my own Magic to keep my Gate open for you."

"Okay." Alu said. "Well, I do want to get a good distance away before my parents discover I'm gone. The Celestial Spirit King said the Valley of Gates is east of Magnolia, and it's going to take us three days to get there on foot. And another thing; Celestial Spirits can't survive long in the human world. So, I take it you guys have a way of making sure you don't run out of life force energy while you're here."

In response, Aries opened the blue and pink hip pouch around her waist. She reached in it and pulled out a small vial filled with a strange kind of lilac-colored liquid that was glowing just a little bit.

"This is Astral Elixir." Aries explained. "The Celestial Spirit King gave me and Aquarius three vials each. Each vile will last for one day in the human world. It'll regenerate our life forces and Magic Power."

"Good." Alu nodded. "So, you guys ready?"

"Yeah," Aquarius replied contemptuously, "we were ready a long time ago. We were just waiting on you, slow-poke. And if you don't mind, I would like to get this over with quickly. I have a date with my boyfriend coming up, and I don't want to miss it because of some little scruff munchkin like you holding me up."

"Believe me," Alu snarled with irritation, "I want to get this over with as much as you do. Now, let's get moving."

With that, the little trio set their course due east and set out. While Alu and Aries ran, Aquarius levitated beside them, making undulating motions with her tail as if she was swimming under water.

Before they were out of sight of the house, Alu stopped and looked to look back at her home.

"Mom. Dad," she whispered to herself. "Please don't worry. I promise I'll be back soon."

Alu then turned away and ran to catch up with the two Celestial Spirits.

* * *

 _The next morning…_

Lucy, dressed in a white bathrobe over her pajamas, was standing by the stove, cooking breakfast for her family. She was frying up some scrambled eggs along with some bacon. On the counter beside the stove, Happy was sitting down and munching on the last of his fish breakfast. Pretty soon, Natsu walked into the kitchen, dressed in his usual outfit. He stretched his arms and gave a big yawn. That was a sign to Lucy and Happy that he was still waking up.

"Morning, Natsu." Lucy greeted her husband with a smile. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, for the most part." Natsu replied, walking up beside his wife and putting an arm around her shoulders. "You?"

"Well, aside from your relentless snoring for two hours, it was fine." Lucy grinned sarcastically.

"Aye." Happy said. "You should probably consider getting that checked out, Natsu. I could hear you all the way from the living room."

"Very funny." Natsu replied indifferently. "You've lived with me for years and you haven't complained about it before."

"Yeah, but back then it wasn't as bad."

"Whatever."

Natsu then turned his attention to the food sizzling in the frying pan.

"So, eggs and bacon for breakfast again?"

"Yes." Lucy replied sharply. "It was quick and easy to make."

"Hey, I'm not complainin'. I'll eat anything you make." Natsu shrugged. "So when are they gonna be done?"

"In a few seconds." Lucy simply replied. "Why don't you go get Alu?"

"She's not up yet?" Natsu asked.

"I guess she decided to sleep in." Lucy said. "I haven't seen her all morning."

"I'll go see if she's up yet." Happy offered, his Aera Wings already appearing on his back.

"Okay." Natsu nodded. "Thanks, little buddy."

As the little blue Exceed flew out of the kitchen and down the hall to Alu's room, Natsu took his arm off of Lucy and turned to go sit take a seat at the table. But as Lucy turned off the stove and carried the frying pan over to three plates, he turned back quickly and snatched a piece of bacon from the frying pan. At first, Lucy was startled by the sudden action and nearly dropped the pan. She quickly recovered and turned to Natsu with an irritated expression.

However, her attitude changed in an instant, and she laughed along with Natsu as the pink-haired man shoved the bacon into his mouth.

"Just so you know you're not getting an extra piece for that." Lucy warned playfully.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever you say, Lu." Natsu replied carelessly, his mouth full of bacon.

Natsu was about to sit down when both he and Lucy heard Happy give a startled scream.

"AUGH! NATSU! LUCY!"

Natsu and Lucy both jolted and looked up in alarm. Lucy quickly set the frying pan on the counter, and she and Natsu ran to where they heard Happy scream. They only managed to enter the hallway when Happy flew straight at them and slammed into the center of Natsu's chest, making the Dragon Slayer grunt. Happy turned his head and looked up at Natsu with panic in his eyes.

"Happy, what's wrong?!" Lucy asked, worried.

"It's Alu!" Happy cried. "She's gone!"

"WHAT?!" Natsu and Lucy shrieked in unison.

Natsu carried Happy as he and Lucy ran down the hall to Alu's room. The both stopped and stared in horror when they saw that the window to room was left wide open, and Alu was nowhere to be seen. Not only that, but Alu's backpack was gone as well.

"Oh, no!" Lucy gasped, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Don't tell me that she ran off again!"

Natsu scowled with concern as he took in the situation. Alu had snuck away from them to go on solo missions before, but never in the middle of the night. There was something definitely wrong about this.

He turned sharply to his wife.

"Lucy, go get dressed!" he ordered. "Happy and I will head down to the guild! If hurry, we might still be able to catch Alu! Or at least find someone whose seen her!"

"O-Okay!" Lucy nodded. "Just hurry! I'll be there as soon as I can!"

"Right! C'mon, Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy replied, flying out of Natsu's hands.

Lucy immediately headed back to the master bedroom to change while Natsu ran across Alu's room and jumped out of the open window. Happy flew close behind him. The moment Natsu was outside, he set out in a dead-sprint toward the city of Magnolia. He didn't stop running, even after he got within the city limits. He didn't even see the pedestrians in front of him as he ran down the streets. Happy had to scream at everyone to make sure they got out of the way of the charging Dragon Slayer.

The only thing that was on Natsu's mind was finding his daughter before it was too late.

"Alu, this better not be another one of your stunts!"


	10. Chapter 10: The Search is On

**Chapter 10**

 **The Search is On**

 _At the Fairy Tail guildhall…_

"So Alu got grounded again because she took a solo mission, huh? Figures that would happen."

"Don' soun so smug, Sis." Ash said, his mouth full of breakfast roll.

"Ash, don't talk with your mouth full." Juvia scolded gently.

Ash glanced over at his mother briefly before swallowing the contents in his mouth.

"Sorry, Mom," he said respectfully. He then turned his attention back to his twin sister. "You shouldn't take pleasure in Alu's frustration, Ur. She was really upset about it."

"Hey, I'm not the one who told her to go take a solo mission." Ur replied impassively. "She just gets into trouble wherever she goes. And she does it of her own volition. But it's because she's an idiot."

Ash glared at his sister.

Ur was a slender girl, and was just slightly shorter than her twin brother, Ash. She had long, wavy, dark ocean-blue hair that was tied in a pony tail that draped over her right shoulder. She also had sapphire eyes and sea-foam white skin.

She was dressed in a simple, pale-blue and white dress with matching knee-high boots and light-grey leggings.

At the moment, she was sitting at one of the large tables in the Fairy Tail guildhall with her family. Beside her was her brother Ash, and across from her was her mother and father, Juvia and Gray. She and her mother got back from their mission earlier that morning, and decided to have a late breakfast at the guild. As they did, Gray and Ash came in shortly after and joined them at their table.

"Speaking of Alu," Gray said, unconcerned, "did you two hear about what happened yesterday?"

"Yes, Cana did mention something about a little incident." Juvia answered. "We didn't get all the details, but whatever happened really got her worked up. She was still having a fit about it."

"From what we were told, Alu took all the beer and wine from behind the bar and hid it downstairs in a closet." Gray explained. "Needless to say, everyone was pretty ticked off about that."

"Like I said," Ur waved her hand dismissively, "Alu gets herself into trouble no matter where you put her. Gee, I'd hate to be her parents."

Ash turned away and looked down at the table. His bangs covered his eyes.

"She's not that bad," he mumbled to himself. "She's just hurting."

Suddenly, the guild doors flew open with a loud slam that echoed throughout the inside of the hall, making nearly everyone jump in alarm. Naturally, all eyes turned to the entrance to see what was going on. A pink and dark blue blur ran in, jumped over the railing and darted toward the bar. It was immediately followed by a little blue Exceed flying just a few yards behind.

"Natsu, slow down!" Happy cried out as he entered the guild.

But Natsu didn't slow down. When he reached the bar, he managed to stick his hands out in time to brace himself against the edged of the countertop. His momentum caused him to lurch forward a bit, and he almost flipped over the counter and onto the other side.

"MIRA!" he shouted, just barely getting his balance back.

The white-haired lady in a black dress gave a startled shriek and turned around quickly to face Natsu. For someone who had just sprinted across town, Natsu actually didn't look too bad. He had sweat running down his face and his hair was windswept wild, but that was about it. He was still panting for air, but that wasn't just because his lungs were out of air from running. It was clear to see the sheer amount of anxiety on his face.

"N-Natsu!" Mirajane stammered, surprised. "What's the matter?!"

"Alu!" Natsu said quickly. "Have you seen Alu?!"

"Alu?!" Mirajane questioned.

"Yes, Alu!" Natsu raised his voice sharply. "Have you seen her at the guild?!"

Mirajane, confused, shook her head.

Natsu let out an aggravated groan and grabbed two a handfuls of his hair, looking as it he was going to pull them out of his head. Then he began to dart around to every single person in the guild like some out-of-control pink tornado, asking them about his daughter's whereabouts in such a loud voice that practically everyone heard the question before he even got to them. He also flustered quite a few people so badly that they couldn't answer his question. Not that he gave them time to either.

Finally, he got to the Fullbuster family's table. By this time, they could see that his angst was about to skyrocket out of control. Simply out of habit, Natsu scowled at Gray and grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt with fierce aggression.

"Hey, what's the big idea, idiot?!" Gray shouted out of protest.

"You better tell me you've seen Alu, Gray!" Natsu snarled. "Where is she?!"

"How should I know, Hot Head?!" Gray snapped. "I just got here only minutes ago!"

"Sorry, Natsu," Ash quickly said, his voice calm and almost quiet, "but we haven't seen Alu at all."

Natsu shot a glare at Ash briefly, making the boy shrink back and look up at the Dragon Slayer with wide, fearful eyes.

Natsu grunted in frustration before letting go of Gray, pushing him away roughly as he did. He then ran over to the Request Board and began to intensely scan over it. By this time, Mirajane had come out from behind the bar and was walking up towards him.

"If you think she's taken a job, Natsu, she hasn't," the white-haired woman said assuringly. "I double-checked the board this morning, and no jobs were missing."

For a brief second, Natsu relaxed at that piece of news. But then an idea struck him and he jolted like he had been shot by lightning.

"What about the S-Class missions?!" he asked. He was becoming more frantic by the minute. "Are all of those still there?! PLEASE tell me she didn't take an S-Class mission!"

Mirajane started at Natsu with wide eyes, and her face went a little pale.

"I…I haven't checked yet," she admitted softly.

Natsu's whole body tensed up. The blood vessels on his face began to pop out and he shook with violent worry and anger. He was even starting to have a reddish-orange aura appear around him.

"So help me!" he snarled through his teeth. "If she's taken an S-Class mission, I'm gonna…!"

"Simmer down, Natsu."

Natsu looked over to see who had just addressed him. To his surprise, Laxus was leaning up against the edge of the Request Board. His arms were folded across his chest and he looked like he was meditating. He opened one eye so he could look over at Natsu.

"None of the S-Class missions were taken," he simply stated.

"Are you sure, Laxus?!" Natsu demanded.

"Yes," Laxus nodded with certainty, "and I was up on the second floor all night. If Alu had tried to sneak up there, I would've caught her. Even I'm not as lazy as to let the little Pyro Pipsqueak taken an unauthorized S-Class mission. Although, I'm actually surprised that she hasn't tried that yet. After all, she is around the same age as you when you stole an S-Class mission."

"NO, SHE'S NOT!" Natsu rebuked furiously. "I WAS EIGHTEEN AND SHE'S ONLY FOURTEEN! THERE'S AN AGE DIFFERENCE THERE, YOU KNOW!"

Before Natsu could argue anymore, Happy flew over and got within the Dragon Slayer's line of vision.

"Calm down, Natsu!" Happy pleaded, waving his arms wildly. "That doesn't matter now! We gotta find Alu! As far as we know, she was never here!"

Natsu gritted his teeth and scowled. Finally, he took a deep breath and exhaled, releasing the pent-up tension in his muscles and letting his fiery aura disappear. Almost all at once he felt fatigued. He was also beginning to become aware of the soreness in his legs from all the running he did. Not wanting to display any weakness, Natsu just leaned up against the wall to catch his breath.

"You're right Happy, I'm sorry," he mumbled begrudgingly. "I'm just worried about her, that's all. It's not like her to run off like this."

"What do you mean?" Mirajane asked, concerned. "What happened?"

"We woke up this morning and Alu was gone." Happy explained. "We thought she had snuck off to do another solo mission, but I guess that's not the case."

"But her backpack was missing, too." Natsu added. "I don't know when she left, but it must have been late at night because her scent had gone cold. I couldn't track her."

A faint but sharp gasp of alarm reached Natsu's ears. His head snapped immediately in the direction it came from and he saw that Ash had a look of horror on his face. He had also gone very white in the face.

"She wouldn't…" Ash whispered softly. "Would she?"

Despite that what Ash said was practically under his breath, it wasn't soft enough to escape the ears of a Dragon Slayer. Particularly one who had all of his senses sharpen to the point where he could hear a pin drop across the room.

The next thing Ash knew, there was a dashing of feet, and a very angry Natsu was suddenly up in his face. He was so close that the boy could see all the details in his eyes, and his sharpened canine teeth. The young Ice Maker Wizard let out an involuntary yelp and leaned back, shivering in fear. Natsu just moved in closer. He was like a lion closing in on his prey.

Indeed, at the moment, Ash WAS feeling like Natsu's prey.

Natsu's action caused Ur to leap out of her seat and back away. The whole time, she just looked at her poor brother with a concerned expression.

"Ash!" Natsu snarled loudly, his tone bordering on threatening. "If you know something about Alu's whereabouts you better tell me right now!"

A fist suddenly came out of nowhere and punched Natsu hard in the face. He stumbled backwards and brought a hand up to the bruise on his cheek. He looked back and scowled viciously at Gray, who was now standing protectively in front of his son.

"Cool it, Pyro Punk!" Gray warned. "And for goodness sake, will you stop making a scene?!"

Natsu shot Gray such a furious look that it was like he wanted to burn the Ice Wizard up with just his eyes. Every single fiber in his body wanted to slug Gray back with all his strength, but his primary objective of finding out where his daughter had run off to held him back. He would have to get Gray back for that punch later.

He certainly planned on doing that, just at a later time.

Sensing that Natsu wasn't going to start a fight, Gray turned back to his son.

"Ash," he said with calm authority, "do you have any idea where Alu might be?"

Ash opened his mouth to speak, but then immediately closed it with discomfort. He swallowed hard and looked down at the table, feeling almost every eye in the guild on him. He was searching for the right words to say. Whatever he had to tell to everyone, he didn't want them to panic from it. However, he wasn't really seeing any other option.

This wasn't going to be easy.

"Uh, well," Ash said with nervousness in his voice, "I was talking with Alu the other day. She was frustrated about being grounded for two weeks and she…well…she may or may not have hinted at…the thing is…"

"OH, FOR MAVIS'S SAKE, ASH!" Natsu bellowed. "JUST SPIT IT OUT! WHAT DID SHE SAY?!"

Ash flinched at that sudden outburst like he had just been hit.

He then cast his gaze downward, causing his bangs to hide his eyes in shadow.

He hesitated for a moment before mumbling miserably, "She said she was thinking about running away."

At the sound of that, the whole guild fell silent. All eyes were wide with disbelief.

Natsu froze. His face turned white and went from anger to utterly shocked in less than it took a heart to beat. It was like Ash had turned him into an ice sculpture just by saying those horrible words. As a father, that was one of the worst things Natsu could possibly hear. But all the evidence seemed to point to that.

He couldn't bring himself to fully believe that Alu would just run away. Then again, she had become very distant and angry with everyone. She had also made it blatantly obvious that she had inherited her father's impulsive nature. That, combined with her feelings, would probably cause her to make irrational decisions like this one.

Was it possible? Did Alu really run away?

"She ran away?" a soft, whimpering voice came from behind.

Natsu slowly turned around and saw that Lucy was standing just a few feet away from him and the others. At first he was surprise that he didn't hear her arrive before, but that was immediately discarded the moment he saw her face. Her chocolate brown eyes began to water up with tears and her hands were cupped over her mouth.

Natsu frowned. He had only seen her like this one other time, many years ago.

It was when the now-disbanded Phantom Lord guild attacked Fairy Tail and demanded that they handed Lucy over to them.

But now, Lucy was frightened and confused for another reason. It was the idea of her daughter running away from home. Just the mere thought of it was enough to make Lucy cover her face shed tears.

"Why?" she sobbed quietly. "Why would she ever want to run away? I don't understand. Just why?"

"Lucy." Natsu whispered softly.

Ash lowered his head even more in shame and clenched his fists, regretting that he had said anything. He hated seeing Alu's family hurt like this. What made it worse was that he felt responsible for it.

Ur narrowed her eyes and turned away, saying nothing. She didn't want anyone to see her face.

Juvia got up from her seat and walked over to Gray. He turned his head to look at her. He saw a pleading glint in her eyes, as if she was hoping that he could say something to help the situation. However, he just turned away solemnly. Even he couldn't see how he could help. Juvia cast her gaze down sadly.

No one in the guild spoke a word. The most that they did was exchange bewildered glances to one another. Although Alu had caused them a lot of trouble before, and she had always found ways to tick everyone off, none of them ever wanted her to actually leave the guild. She was still part of their Fairy Tail family, no matter how annoying and mischievous she was.

Finally, Natsu moved from his spot. His eyes were covered in the shadow of his bangs. He walked over to a weeping Lucy and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a strong embrace, and causing her to tense up. His eyes were closed, like he was in deep thought, and his breathing was steady. As much as it hurt him to think that his daughter had run away, he was the father of the family, and he knew he had to be strong for Lucy's sake.

"Natsu?" Lucy whimpered.

Natsu tightened his grip around his wife and opened his eyes. He stared straight ahead.

"Don't cry, Lucy." Natsu said in a low, strong voice. "We'll find Alu. We'll find her and we'll bring her home."

Lucy caught her breath and swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn't just hear the conviction in Natsu's voice; she felt it, too. She didn't have to look at his face to know that he had a determined expression. She rested her head against Natsu's shoulder for comfort. She soaked up the strength that was resonating from him, feeling her own willpower returning. Just knowing that he wasn't going to give up was enough to give her hope again.

She let out a deep exhale and nodded. She slowly pulled away from her husband and wiped her eyes with her hand.

"Right," she breathed.

With that, Natsu and Lucy left the guild with Happy following close behind them. Although they didn't know where Alu was, they knew they had to start their search somewhere. And the best place to begin was by looking somewhere that Alu would most likely go to first.

* * *

 _An hour and a half later…_

After getting some provisions from their house, Natsu, Lucy and Happy made their way to the train station. Neither one of them spoke to each other as they walked to the station and sat down on a bench to wait their train. The whole time, they all had a kind of distant thoughtfulness in their eyes.

It was only when the announcer said that the train to Onibas was arriving that they snapped out of their somber trances. Natsu and Lucy both stood up while Happy used his Aera magic to hover beside them.

"You got your Troia pills, Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"Right here," the Dragon Slayer replied, holding up a small bottle full of little blue pills.

Natsu popped the lid opened with his thumb and let a pill fall out into his left hand. He then tossed the medicine into his mouth and swallowed it.

"Okay," Lucy nodded, "let's go."

The three were about to head out when someone yelled, "Natsu! Lucy! Happy! Wait up!"

The two Dragneels and Exceed stopped and turned to see who called out to them. To their open-mouth surprise, they saw a group of their fellow Fairy Tail members coming towards them.

The group consisted of Gray, his son Ash, Erza, Wendy, Carla, Romeo, and Gajeel with his daughter, Carol.

"What the…what are you guys doing here?" Natsu asked, befuddled.

"We came to help you look for Alu." Wendy explained. "After all, she's part of our Fairy Tail family, too."

Natsu, Lucy and Happy all blinked at the same time.

"You mean you really came to help us?" Lucy asked, her eyes full of hope.

"Of course." Erza nodded reassuringly. "Even the Master said that we should help. As Wendy said, Alu is part of our family, too. And while I may not approve of her actions, as long as she is part of this guild, I will always aid you in your search to find her."

"Alu's our friend, too." Ash added. "And we never leave a friend behind."

"Right." Carol said with a grin. "We'll help you find her."

Seeing their comrades all here to help them was enough to make Natsu, Lucy and Happy give thankful smiles. There was a sense of comfort in knowing that their guild had their backs, especially their teammates.

"Last call to Onibas!" the announcer said. "I repeat, last call to Onibas!"

"That's our ride." Natsu stated. "C'mon."

With that, the group of Fairy Tail Wizards all boarded onto the train.


	11. Chapter 11: Fire vs Water

**Chapter 11**

 **Fire vs. Water**

 _"Are you sure you're ready for this?"_

 _"It's the only way we're going to get stronger. If we're going to protect this world, then we need to learn to coordinate our attacks. We're not going to be going up against normal wizards. We're going up against something much bigger. Not to mention, dangerous."_

 _"I'm not going to go easy on you, you know?"_

 _"Yeah, I know that. And I don't want you to. Our adversaries won't go easy on us. The only way for us to get better so we can face them is to go at each other with full force."_

 _"Fine, if you say so. Then let us begin."_

* * *

 _SPLASH!_

"AUGH!"

Alu screamed in alarm as a sudden cold wave of water hit her like a sack of bricks, causing her to wake up in a panic. Her eyes snapped open and she soon found herself tumbling off a large boulder, down a small dirt slope, and into the shallows of a stream with a large "SPLASH". Less than a second later, she shot out of water, coughing and spluttering. Her nose burned horribly, like someone had just struck the inside of her nostrils with lightning. She rubbed her hands all over her face, hoping that could fight off the pain.

"Oh crap, I got water up my nose!" she moaned.

She then turned around angrily.

"Okay, where's the punk who did that?!" she shouted.

"Get up, scruff munchkin!" a harsh, moody voice barked.

Alu snapped her head around and scowled up at the one who had spoken to her so harshly. Aquarius was floating above her with an annoyed expression on her face.

"What's the big idea, Aquarius?!" Alu yelled, shaking her fist in the air. "You tryin' to drown me?!"

"Hey, that's the only way to wake a heavy sleeper." Aquarius sneered. "Although it is a pity that you didn't drown."

Alu leapt to her feet, her whole body dripping with water. She tensed with anger and irritation. She was already in a bad mood from having a rude awakening. So any little snide remark that Aquarius would make would be enough to aggravate her even more. If Aquarius thought Alu was going to take her abuse lying down, or even so much as cower at her moody disposition, then that Water Spirit had another thing coming.

Alu didn't back down from anyone, Celestial Spirit or otherwise.

"You better watch it, you Psycho Fish-Face!" she shouted.

Aquarius's eyes flashed in anger, "What did you call me?!"

"You heard me!" Alu replied boldly. "I don't care how bad your attitude is! I'm not afraid of you! Just try to knock down, I dare ya! I'll just strike back even harder!"

"I'd like to see you try!" Aquarius raged. "Water puts out fire, you know!"

"My fire's different, ya know!" Alu shot back. "And I fight Ur all the time! She's a Water Wizard! I know how to dodge and deflect all kinds of water-based attacks!"

"But you've never gone up against my power!" Aquarius pointed out. "I could easily wash you away with the tide!"

"Oh, so you're using that threat on me like you did with my mom, huh?!" Alu glared. "Well, guess what: that ain't gonna to work on me!"

At the mention of Lucy, Aquarius flinched. For a brief moment, Alu could've sworn that she saw a tiny hint of emotional pain in the Water Spirit's face. But it could've just been her imagination. For it was quickly replaced by a deep scowl that was directed at the young wizard.

"YOU BETTER WATCH THAT MOUTH OF YOURS OR I'LL TURN YOU INTO A DROWNED CORSPE!" Aquarius screeched.

That's when Alu felt the water at her ankles begin swirl around violently. She looked down for a second and saw that the stream she was standing in was about to erupt. It was a good thing for Alu that she had quick reflexes. She leapt out of the way just as a pillar of water exploded from the spot she was standing. If she hadn't done that in time, she would've been sent clear up into the sky.

Probably all the way up to heaven, too.

After dodging the attack, Alu summersaulted in the air before landing onto the large boulder she had been sleeping before. Then, with a cry of rage, she launched herself from the rock, her fist blazing with Dragon Slayer fire.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!"

Before Aquarius had the time to dodge, Alu brought her fist down and punched the Water Spirit square on the cheek. This caused the Celestial Spirit to grimace in pain and slide back a few feet. She winced and brought her hand up to nurse the bruise on her face. Alu landed gracefully back on her feet before straightening herself up and taking a fighting stance.

Aquarius fixed Alu with a near-death glare and snarled.

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Alu challenged. "I'm the one person who's not afraid to stand up to people like you!"

"And I'm not afraid of knocking out brats like you!" Aquarius rebuked.

The Water Spirit shot a stream of water out from her silver urn. This time, it came on so hard and fast that Alu didn't have time to react. The water hit her with so much force that it felt like an ice-burg rammed her in the chest and stomach. The blast sent her flying back and she slammed right into the thick trunk of a tree. Alu gasped as pain shot through her back like a hundred needles. The impact stunned her for a moment and she grimaced in discomfort. However, it wasn't long before she was back on her feet and darting back towards Aquarius with vicious strength.

"I thought it was forbidden for Celestial Spirits to take the life of their key holders!" Alu yelled angrily. "What makes you think you could get away by threatening them?!"

Aquarius shot out a whip of water from her urn and shot back, "Well, whatever happened to treating your Spirits with respect?! Didn't your parents teach you any manners?!"

"I've got manners!" Alu rebuked, ducking below the oncoming attack with ease. "And I treat my Spirits with respect! But I'll knock them down if they disrespect me or my family! Just ask Taurus!"

Once Alu was in range of Aquarius, her feet lit up with fire and she jumped.

"FIRE DRAGON TALON!"

With a spin, Alu round-housed kicked Aquarius's urn right out of her hands. The shiny container soared through the air, turning over and over as it did. It eventually landed heavily in a bed of green grass.

"You little…!" Aquarius snarled.

She was quickly cut off by Alu's other leg kicking her in the side, knocking her to the ground. Alu gracefully landed on both of her feet, giving a triumphant battle stance.

"It's great to have two legs!" Alu taunted with a wicked grin. "Makes it twice as easy to kick people's butts!"

Aquarius suddenly swung around and her tailfin knocked Alu's ankles out from under her, causing the girl to lose her balance and fall onto her side. Alu winced and groaned as she made contact with the hard ground.

"Don't get too cocky, scruff munchkin!" Aquarius warned, getting back up. "Letting your guard down will get you killed!"

"My name's not scruff munchkin!" Alu retorted, rushing up to Aquarius. "It's Alu!"

Alu then swung her fist in an attempt to punch Aquarius again, but the Water Spirit was ready for that. Aquarius caught Alu's wrist and kept her fist away from her face. Alu brought her other fist up to try and uppercut Aquarius. Once again, the Celestial Spirit grabbed her wrist with her other hand. Alu tried to force her fists in their intended directions, but Aquarius proved to be stronger than she had previously thought. She kept Alu's attacks at bay. When Alu tried to wrench herself free, Aquarius's firm grasp prevented that, too.

"What'd I tell you?!" Aquarius snarled. "Fire can't beat water! And you call yourself a Dragon Slayer! Your flames barely scratched me! They're just pathetic!"

At the statement, Alu's eyes flashed with raging fire. With a cry of anger, her whole body suddenly lit up in a blazing inferno of pale flames.

Aquarius managed to see that coming and immediately let of of the girl's wrists. She backed away as Alu's flames got even more intense. She was lucky she got away in time before her hands were burned. She gave a look of concerned confusion when she saw the young girl's face.

Alu scowled at Aquarius with contorted fury. And the fire blazing around her only added a hostile emphasis to that. It caused her hair to whip around wildly, and her cloths ruffled sharply within the flames as if they were part of them, too. The fire around her was so intense that Aquarius could feel the waves of heat radiating from it.

" **NEVER** INSULT MY FLAMES AGAIN!" Alu roared. "THESE AREN'T JUST MY FLAMES! THEY WERE GIVEN TO ME BY MY FATHER! I DON'T CARE IF YOU ARE A CELESTIAL SPIRIT, I WON'T LET YOU INSULT HIM, OR MY MOTHER!"

Aquarius stared at Alu for a second or two. She then narrowed her eyes a bit and prepared herself to attack again. Alu responded by shifting her position into a fighting stance. Both of them had just gotten serious about taking the other down.

However, before they could even so much as charge at each other, Aries suddenly came running out of the forest and got between the two of them, holding a wide-spread hand out to each of them like some crossing guard trying to stop two Magic mobiles from colliding.

"What are you doing, Aries?!" Aquarius demanded. "Get out of the way!"

But Aries didn't move. She was trembling from the fear of being in the line of fire, but she somehow found the courage to stand her ground.

"Alu! Aquarius! Please stop it!" she desperately pleaded. "This isn't the time to be fighting each other! We have to get to the Valley of Gates and we only have three days to do so!"

There was an unsteady pause.

Alu grimaced when she looked into Aries's frightened face and felt a nasty jab in her chest. As much as she wanted to teach that arrogant Aquarius a lesson, the last thing she wanted to do was hurt Aries in the process. At this point, there was a good chance that the Golden Ram Spirit would be caught up in the fight.

Finally, the Fairy Tail Wizard took a deep breath and relax. Her fiery aura slowly disappeared back into her body and she stood tall. She lowered her head just a bit and closed her eyes. Her expression was very serious, but it was hard to tell if it was from irritation, guilt, or both. Either way, she showed that she no longer had the will to fight at the moment.

"You're right, Aries," she said in low voice. "We're just wasting time here."

Aquarius lowered her arms to her sides and raised an eyebrow. So many things happened at once that she didn't quite know what to think of them. To start, this was one of the rare times that she had ever seen Aries stand up to anyone before. She had always seen Aries a shy, quiet person who would break down at the thought of standing up for herself, especially against her key holder. But now, the Ram Spirit stood up not just to Alu, but Aquarius, too.

Aquarius gave an ambiguous expression, almost like she was mildly pleased. However, neither Alu nor Aries noticed.

"By the way," Alu said to Aries, "where were you?"

"I just went to see where we were." Aries explained. "I'm sorry for going off on my own without telling anyone. I just didn't want to wake you up since I knew how tired you were."

"Ah, don't worry about it." Alu shrugged. "So, did you find out where we are?"

"Well," Aries replied, "from what I found, we are about one mile away from the city of Onibus. Do you want to stop there to get some more provisions before we head out again? I noticed that you didn't have much when we left, and it would be bad if there was an emergency that we weren't prepared for it."

"Hmm." Alu said thoughtfully. "That's probably a good idea. Might as well since we're close by. However, you and Aquarius should probably wait in the woods. I don't think people will react too well when two Celestial Spirits just casually stroll into town."

Aries nodded in agreement while Aquarius folded her arms and looked away with distain, giving an irritated scoff.

"I'll be in and out of Onibus as quickly as I can, and I won't be there for more than an hour." Alu promised. "It shouldn't take me that long to find what I'll need anyway."

"Just don't take your sweet time like you did last night, okay." Aquarius said contemptuously. "In case you've forgotten, Aries and I are on a time limit and we still have three-days worth of travel time to cover. We've already lost precious time thanks to you."

Alu scowled, showing her teeth.

"You're the one who started the fight!" she snapped. "I was just finishing it! Now let's get moving!"

With that, Alu gathered up her backpack and the group set out towards the edge of the forest, towards the city of Onibus. Alu walked a few yards in the front, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth with boiling impatience. Right now, she was having deep loathing for the snobby Water Spirit. All she did was use her attitude to push people around and make them fearful of her. How Alu's mother could ever consider her a friend was beyond the girl entirely.

Well, one thing was for sure, that wasn't going to work on Alu. Aquarius could threaten her all she wanted and the young wizard would still be unfazed. And if that arrogant Celestial Spirit ever did try to wash her away with the tide, then she would get another thing coming. Alu would just swim up from the depths and give that fish-lady a fist full of her Dragon Slayer Magic.

When she was far enough of ahead of the two Celestial Spirits so that they couldn't hear her, she mumbled grudgingly to herself, "When this is all over I'm gonna to kick that mermaid's butt all over Magnolia!"

* * *

 _An hour later, Onibus Station…_

The train the Fairy Tail wizards were riding on slowed down and gradually came to a stop in the terminal. Natsu, Lucy, and the others all got off and regrouped at the entrance. Once they were all together, Erza took charge of the situation.

"Okay, here's the plan," she said commandingly. "We're going to spread out and see if we can find any clues as to whether Alu was here or not. Keep your eyes and ears open for any information that might pinpoint us to her location. And for you Dragon Slayers, use your noses to try and pick up her scent. If anyone finds anything, they are to inform the others immediately."

"Got it!" everyone replied, nodding in unison

"Then let's get searching."

With that, the search-party split up into five groups to look for the little runaway wizard girl. Lucy and Happy went with Erza to search near the theater; Gray and Ash went to check the outer district; Wendy, Romeo, and Carla went to park; and Gajeel took his daughter Carol to the main marketplace.

Natsu was the only one who decided to go solo for a while. At the moment, he had a lot on his mind and he just needed some space to help sort it all out. As much as he tried to concentrate on the task at hand, his thoughts kept getting in the way of his goal.

The thing that had been haunting him the whole time was what would happen when they found Alu. Would she go back with them? Or would they have to drag her back to Magnolia kicking and screaming? And would they be able to keep her from running away again?

Natsu narrowed his eyes when he realized that he couldn't be sure until Alu was found. He would have to put those worries away for now. He would confront them later, if any of them should occur.

"Okay, Natsu," he said to himself, closing his eyes and thinking hard, "time to focus. If I was Alu, where would I be?"

Considering that Alu knew that Natsu was a Dragon Slayer and had keen senses, Natsu deduced that she would most likely want to be somewhere where she could drown out her scent and voice. She would also want to be someplace where she could blend in with a large crowd as much as possible. So, his best chances of finding her would have to be in places where there was lots of people.

Even then, he would have to be careful and be on high alert. He would have to focus on singling out Alu, but he would also have make sure Alu didn't sense him first. Alu's Dragon senses were just as strong as his were. If she really was avoiding him, she would most likely escape if she discovered him before he discovered her. Natsu knew from first-hand experience that Alu was a fast little girl. He had to make sure he found her before she could have the chance to run.

"I guess I should check in the most crowded areas first." Natsu said out loud. "Hopefully she's somewhere in this town. That would certainly make things a lot easier."

With that, Natsu set out on his mission.


	12. Chapter 12: Escape from the City

**Chapter 12**

 **Escape from the City**

 _An hour later, Onibus marketplace…_

Alu pushed and shoved her way through the crowds of the Onibus marketplace. Despite the weather being pleasantly warm, she was wearing her green jacket to hide her Fairy Tail insignia. She also had the hood up to conceal her hair. Since she didn't have anything to disguise herself, hiding her most notable features was the next best thing.

After all, there was only one other person who had sakura pink hair and was from Fairy Tail. Those details alone would be enough to give her identity away to anyone. And if they saw her here, they might just contact the Fairy Tail guild. Alu really couldn't afford to let that to happen. She had to be very careful this time.

Alu was hoping to have been able to purchase some travel food, along with some emergency bandages, and get out of Onibus unnoticed. Unfortunately, the city was so crowded that it slowed her down a great deal. Twenty minutes had already passed since the time she had first entered the city, and she still hadn't purchased what she needed. At this rate, she was going to be late getting back to Aries and Aquarius.

She was already starting to imagine what kind of snarky remark Aquarius would say to her when she got back, and it made her blood boil.

"If she gives me some stupid remark I'll bite her head off," she growled bitterly to herself.

Finally, the pink-haired girl came upon an open-air stall that was selling some food. Since she was in a hurry, Alu didn't care what she bought so long as it was relatively cheap and fresh. As a result, she ended up purchasing a loaf of bread, some cheese, and four red-delicious apples from the stall. She put her items in a bag she had tied around her waist underneath her jacket. She then searched for a place where she could get bandages and medicine. Unfortunately, the most that she found were stalls that sold clothing such as shirts, skirts, and bathing suits. None of which Alu found very appealing either. They were too revealing for her liking.

"Oh, just forget it." Alu finally said, frustrated. "I'm running out of time and I really don't want to have to deal with that Psycho Fish-Face. I've got food and that's good enough for me. I'll just…"

Alu didn't get to finish her sentence because it was at that moment she smelled something. It was a scent that made her stiffen in terror and her blood run cold. It was the scent of burning mahogany embers. It wasn't a scent of nature though. That scent belonged to a person.

A person that she knew all too well.

Alu snapped her head in the direction where the scent was the strongest and looked for its source. Among all of the blonde, brown, and black haired-peopled; one man with spiky sakura pink hair stood out in the middle of the crowd. Alu's vision seemed to zoom through the crowd and enlarge the man's image in her mind, and she jolted in fright.

It was Natsu! No doubt about it!

"Dad?!" Alu shrieked under a whisper. "What's he doing here?!"

The moment Alu voiced the question, she immediately answered that, too.

"Oh duh! He's looking for ME! Crap, I didn't think he'd start looking for me this early! I gotta get out of here before he finds me!"

Alu grabbed the edges of her hood to prevent it from coming off her head and turned around. She began to move through the mass of people again, this time at a much quicker pace. She pushed and shoved even harder than before, not even stopping to apologize even when people yelled at her for jostling them. She kept her ears open solely on her father actions. Despite all of the large crowd with its jumble of noises, and the distance between her and her father, she could hear him very clearly. She could hear him moving through the crowd quickly. His sandals clattered against the the cobblestone pavement in fast succession and he was sniffing the air intently.

"Oh crap, he's trying to pick up my scent!" Alu said frantically to herself. "He might have picked it up already! If he catches me, I'm done for! I just hope all these people will be enough to slow him down!"

The moment Alu exited the crowd, she made a bolt for the park. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, not even stopping to look back. Her best chance of escaping was to put some distance between her and her father before he got out of the crowd.

Keeping all of her senses sharp and open, she headed towards the center of the park. She knew full well that she was more vulnerable now that she was out in the open. Natsu would be able to track her more easily now that she wasn't among so many people. She had to hurry and find a way out of Onibus.

She was about to run down a set of cement stairs, but quickly came to a dead stop. Just walking by the foot of the steps was Wendy and Romeo, with Carla hovering beside them.

"They're here, too?!" Alu exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down.

"I don't think Alu's here, Wendy." Romeo said.

"Yeah, but I think she is in Onibus." Wendy replied. "I keep picking up her scent. In fact, I can smell her like she's close by."

Just then, Carla's head happened to turn and she looked up in Alu's direction. The young Wizard's face turned pale the moment she made eye contact with the little snowy-white Exceed.

She had recognized her. Even with her jacket on, Carla still managed to see the little pink wisps of hair that were beginning to sway out of the hood. That mixed with Alu's dark eyes pretty much told her who this girl was.

"Alu, there you are!" Carla exclaimed.

Wendy and Romeo both turned to look up at Alu. The girl let only a startled shriek before turning darting away from the stairs.

"Alu, wait!" Wendy shouted.

But Alu kept running. Her acute hearing told her that Wendy and Romeo were running up the steps behind her. That would certainly buy her a few more precious seconds. But just as Alu thought she was safe, something else happened. Something that made Alu's fleeing instinct to kick into overdrive.

"Wendy! Romeo!"

Natsu had caught up.

* * *

Natsu rushed over to both Wendy and Romeo just as they had come up the stairs.

"Natsu, Alu's here!" Romeo called when he saw the Fire Dragon Slayer. "She went that way!"

Natsu ran right past the trio and after the teenaged girl that was now just several yards ahead of him. She had obviously heard him, because she was running away from him at top speed. Not only that, she didn't even bother trying to keep her hood up. It fell off her head, letting her sakura-pink hair fly freely.

"Alu!" Natsu called out. "Get back here!"

Alu heard him, but she didn't obey. If anything, Natsu's voice just frightened her even more. She started to run even faster.

But Natsu wasn't going to give up so easily. He pulled all of the strength he had in his legs and sprinted to catch up with the girl. Every single instinct in his body was telling him to catch Alu no matter what. It was clear to see by now that she wasn't going to come home willingly. And while it pained Natsu to see that, it wasn't going to stop him from getting his daughter back.

He was going to bring her home to Fairy Tail, even if he had to use force.

Of course, reaching Alu was easier said than done. Both Natsu and Alu were very physically fit, had long legs attached to their torsos, and could run for long periods of time before becoming tired.

Natsu had some advantages in that he was physically stronger than Alu and could take longer strides than her in his steps. But Alu had some advantages, too. For one, she was smaller than Natsu, which allowed her to move more swiftly than him. This kept her a good distance away from him.

But Alu also had two other skills that Natsu had forgotten about, which were that she was very agile, and she could turn on a dime.

And that's exactly what Alu did.

Before Natsu could even guess what her next move was going to be, Alu abruptly made a beeline toward a row of bushes and dove into them.

"ALU!" Natsu shouted, skidding to try and change his direction.

Alu came out on the other side of the bushes, catching herself with her hands and summersaulting back onto her feet. In less than a second after that, she was running again. By the time Natsu had leapt over bushes and caught sight of her, she was scrambling up a nearby tree until she found a branch that could support her weight. Before he could reach her, she was jumping from tree to tree like some kind of parkour master. Natsu realized what she was trying to do. He had seen her use this strategy many times before. She was trying to use higher ground to stay out of reach of her father. However, Natsu also knew how to intercept her. He ran beneath Alu, looking for the right moment to snag her ankle.

But just as he was about to jump…

SLAM!

Natsu ran straight into a large, concrete wall. He fell over onto his back and laid in the grass, dazed and stunned from the impact. Unable to move for a moment, all he could do was watch as Alu leapt up onto the rim of the wall he had just ran into and disappeared onto the other side.

"Natsu!"

Wendy, Romeo, and Carla came rushing over the the fallen Fire Dragon Slayer.

"Don't worry about me!" Natsu yelled dizzily. "Just get that kid!"

All three hesitated for a second before simultaneously agreeing. They ran past Natsu and headed for a staircase that would take them out of the park and into the streets of the city again.

Although Alu had managed to evade them, Wendy's powerful sense of smell could detect where she was, and where she was going. All the Sky Dragon Slayer had to do was follow the scent of mahogany and vanilla.

"She's heading towards the theater!" she informed Romeo and Carla as they ran down cobblestone street.

"That's where Lucy and Erza are!" Carla pointed out.

"If she runs into Erza, she's not getting away!" Romeo said with a nervous grin. "Actually, I don't know who would be scarier right now: Erza or Lucy!"

Wendy was only half-listening to what Romeo said. Most of her powers of concentration were focused onto her nose and scent it was tracking.

One of the advantages of being the Sky Dragon Slayer was that Wendy's sense of smell was the strongest out of all the Dragon Slayers. It took a few years for her to master it completely, but she was now at a level where she could effectively use the air to sniff out whatever she needed to. Not only that, she could also track her target's every movement, even from a great distance.

And right now, that skill was coming in very handy.

"Wait!" Wendy said quickly. "She's changed direction! She must've spotted Lucy and Erza because she's running away from the theater! Faster than before!"

"Where's she going?" Romeo asked.

"To one of the outer districts!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Gajeel and his daughter Carol were just walking out of the busy marketplace and into the outer district of the city.

Carol was a slender fourteen-year-old girl who came up just a little bit past her father's elbow. She had long wavy black hair that was tied back into a high pony tail, reddish hazel eyes, and fair skin. On her upper left arm was a black Fairy Tail insignia.

She wore a black sleeveless shirt underneath a set of Iron Dragon Scale armor that covered her chest and abdomen. On her arms were white fingerless gloves that stretched up to the middle of her upper arms. On her lower arms were a matching set of Iron Dragon Scale guards. She wore a tight black skirt that reached down to the center of her thighs. Underneath were white leggings that went down to her knees. On her feet was a matching set of brown boots that were enforced by a pair of Iron Dragon Scale guards. Around her waist was a belt with a pair small dagger-looking weapons in their sheaths, and a belt with a bunch of little Lacrima charm-like items attached to it were was strapped around her front and back.

At the moment, she and her father were making their way down a path that would take them to one of the outer districts of the city.

"I still don't know why you wanted us to tag along." Gajeel said irritably. "Personally, I think we have more than enough people out looking for that little terror."

"I guess so," Carol replied calmly, "but Alu is pretty slippery. One time when we were assigned to stop a bunch of bandits, she dodged every single one of them without getting a single scratch. Well...that is until her Magic ran out and we had to save her."

"Hmph," Gajeel grunted. "She seems to run out of Magic easily. It's kind of annoying."

"Dad!" Carol snapped. "Alu works really hard to be a Fairy Tail wizard!"

"When she's not causing trouble for everyone else," the Iron Dragon Slayer grumbled sarcastically.

Carol was about to say something when a male voice from behind them shouted, "Gajeel, Carol, she's coming your way!"

The two Fairy Tail wizards both whipped around to see what was going. Much to their surprise, Gray and Ash were racing down the street towards them. A few yards in front of them, a pink-haired girl in a green jacket was trying to outrun them. When she saw Gajeel and Carol, she skidded to a stop and tried to escape in the opposite way. However, she didn't get far when she remembered that Gray and Ash were there. She then attempted to dash down a nearby alley

"Gajeel!" Gray shouted.

Gajeel didn't need another command. He darted from his spot and blockaded the girl's line of retreat just in time. Alu reacted quickly and turned around, only to be stopped by Carol, who had taken one of the Lacrima charms and pressed the crystal in the middle. This caused the charm to instantly turn into a large silver-colored shield, which Carol used to bar Alu's way.

Seeing her one last chance to get away, Alu tried to sprint down a street just to her right. However, before she had time to move her feet, she staggered and nearly fell over. She regained her balance quickly and looked down to see that her feet were encased in ice, planting her firmly to the ground. Her head snapped up and saw that a reluctant Ash had trapped her with his Ice Magic.

"Oh, c'mon Ash!" Alu whined. "I thought we were friends!"

"Sorry, Alu." Ash replied, frowning.

"You don't need to apologize, Ash." Gray said sternly, looking at the captured girl. "Alu, you should've known better than to run away from home like that. You've caused us a lot of trouble, you know."

Alu just scowled at the older Ice Maker Wizard.

"Gray! Gajeel!"

The two men looked behind up the street and saw Lucy and Erza racing towards them. Happy was close behind, using his Aera wings to fly.

"We got her, guys." Gray informed.

Lucy almost gave a relieved smile when a shocked expression came over her face. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Alu with an angry expression. This made everyone else freeze and look at the Celestial Wizard with concern.

Why was Lucy so mad?

"Gemini!" Lucy suddenly shouted.

At that second, the figure that was Alu disappeared in a puff of smoke and turned into the two little blue Spirits.

"Piri – Piri!" they chimed together, almost teasingly.

"What?!" Carol shrieked.

"Are you kidding me?!" Gajeel bellowed in irritation. "Not those two gremlins again!"

"Gemini!" Lucy scolded. "What are you doing here?!"

"We're just following out key holder's orders." Gemi said cheekily. "She wanted us to lead you away so she could escape the city."

"Are you serious?!" Lucy cried, clenching in annoyed distress.

"Hey," Mini replied in the same tone as her twin, "you're the one who gave us to her, remember?"

Before the others could do anything else, Gemini disappeared in a puff of smoke, chiming their usual catchphrase, "Piri – Piri."

This left the Fairy Tails all dumbfounded and annoyed.

Once again, Alu's prankster habits let her slip through their fingers.

"Lucy," Gajeel finally said dryly, "I have to question your reasoning on this one. What the hell were you thinking when you gave that little terror of yours Gemini?"

Lucy shot Gajeel a nasty glare, making him step back a bit in defense.

"Trust me, they will be the first thing I take from her when I get my hands on her!" she snarled. "Now let's get back to finding Alu before she leaves the city!"

"Oh, she could be anywhere by now." Happy moaned.

"Then let's get moving." Carol spoke up, reverting her shield back into it's little charm state. "We can't waste anymore time. Maybe the others have found her."

"You're right, Carol." Erza nodded. "We need to hurry and see if Natsu or Wendy have found her."

With that matter settled, the group set on their search again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Natsu recovered from his previous collision with a concrete wall and had resumed his chase for his daughter. Now that he knew she was here, it didn't take him long to track her down again. He pursued her like a cheetah after its prey, not letting her out his sight for more than five seconds. Alu tried to evade him by ducking in and out of alleyways and dodging through crowds. But no matter what she tried, he just appeared either ahead of her or behind her.

At one point, Alu was so desperate to get away that she wasn't watching where she was going.

She crashed right into a stand that was selling perfume and three glass bottles of Cherry Blossom spray broke and spilled on her, soaking her from head to toe. Although that powerful scent punched her in the face like a fist, she recovered quickly and darted away just as Natsu was about to reach out and grab her. He would've gotten her immediately after his first miss. However, he slipped on bottle of perfume and fall to the ground.

That gave Alu the lead, at least for a while.

Thanks to the crowded area, Alu managed to get ahead of Natsu for a moment, but this added scent of Cherry Blossom perfume only gave Natsu another tracking device to use. And this one was even stronger than Alu's regular one. He wasn't going to lose her trail this time.

Finally, he chased Alu to the edge of the city.

"ALU!" Natsu shouted. "GET BACK HERE NOW! I MEAN IT!"

Alu didn't listen. She just kept running like her life depended on it.

This only made Natsu increase his own speed. He was going to catch her.

He saw his opportunity when Alu led them to a wall with a narrow opening in it. Seeing as the wall was too high to jump over from where she was on the ground, Alu had no choice but to try and squeeze through the opening. On the other side was the forest where Aries and Aquarius were waiting for her. All she had to do was get through that crack, and she would be able to escape.

Luckily for Alu, she was just small enough to fit through the crevasse. Holding her breath and making herself skinnier, she squirmed through with little difficulty. However, the time she used to get through allowed Natsu to catch up with her. While the opening was too small for his body, his arm was just the right size and length to reach through and seized his daughter's jacket in mighty grip.

Alu let out an involuntary yelp and came to a forced stop.

"Enough, Alu!" Natsu strained, panting heavily for air. "You're coming back with me right now! You've got some explaining to –"

Alu didn't wait for Natsu to finish his sentence. With a sudden burst of determination, she wriggled out of her jacket and sprinted away.

"ALU!" Natsu shouted, trying to squeeze through the crevasse after her.

However, he stopped when he saw Alu turn and look back at him for a moment. His eyes widened when he saw the expression on her face. It was just a brief glimpse, but he could see that tears were beginning to brim her dark green eyes. And the expression on her face was one that startled him the most.

Alu looked lost, afraid, and hurt.

The girl then grimaced and turned away. She darted into the forest, disappearing among the trees.

Natsu slowly backed away from the wall and then stopped. He lifted his daughter's now Cherry Blossom-smelling jacket and clutched it tightly in both hands. He lowered his head, making his bangs fall over his face and hid his eyes in shadow. All that was coursing through him now was confusion and pain.

Alu ran away from him. She actually ran away from him. What's more, she did it with clear determination. She wanted to get away from him. She wanted to escape. She didn't want to go back. That much was all too clear for Natsu to deny.

But then again, why did she look back at him with an expression like that? It was like it pained her to leave her father behind.

He just couldn't understand it. Why would Alu run away from him like this?

"Why, Alu?" he whispered bitterly to himself. "Why?"

Natsu wasn't the type to cry, but a single tear managed to leak from the rim of his eye and slowly slid down his cheek. It dripped off of his chin and landed on the jacket in his hands. He gritted his teeth and forced the rest to stay where they were.

He didn't want to show any weakness when he found the others. Even after all this he still had to be strong for everyone else.

* * *

Alu ran through the forest. Her legs ached and she was breathless, but she kept going. She soon came upon the place where Aquarius and Aries were waiting for her and slowed down to a stop to catch her breath.

"Alu!" Aries exclaimed when she saw her key holder. "Are you alright?! What happened?!"

"I'm fine." Alu gasped, hunched over and supporting herself with her hands on her knees. "But we need to…get moving. Mom and Dad…and some other Wizards…are looking for me. I got away…but they'll be…on our trail soon."

Aquarius gave an irritated sneer.

"Well, that's what you get for coming unprepared," she lectured. "And now we've wasted even more time thanks to you. And why the hell do you smell like Cherry Blossoms? Did you WANT your daddy to find us or…?"

Alu shot Aquarius a deadly gaze.

"Aquarius!" she growled menacingly. "You say another stupid thing, so help me, I'll blow your face off with a Fire Dragon Roar!"

"Alu!" Aries yelped, stepping back in alarm.

She knew that Alu was upset, but she never expected her to say a threat like that. Even that wasn't like the Alu that Aries knew.

Aqurius didn't speak, but she did look at the pink-haired girl with a defensive scowl.

"Let's go." Alu commanded.

Without speaking another word, the group hastily made their way through the forest once again. This time, Alu trailed behind so that neither Celestial Spirit could see her face. She really didn't want them to see her in right now. She tried so hard to restrain herself, but she couldn't repress the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

Those tears were caused by the image of her father's face. She felt a horrible tug in her heart when she remembered how horrified he looked when she ran away from him. It killed her to think about it.

What was worse was that it was too late to change anything. If there was some other way to resolve the issue, Alu had missed it. What was done was done.

She couldn't change it now. All she could do was think over that painful image and feel its effects stab her heart like little knives. It was enough to make a few tears slip past the rim of her eyes and trickle down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Dad," she whispered bitterly to herself. "I'm so sorry."


	13. Chapter 13: Sabertooth's Vengeance

**Chapter 13**

 **Sabertooth's Vengeance**

 _Later that night…_

After cleaning herself in a nearby spring to wash the perfume smell off, Alu got dressed and walked back to the campsite and sat down by herself on a fallen log, watching the fire before her grow smaller with each passing minute. The look on her face was one of weariness and discouragement.

Alu was exhausted and all of her muscles ached, but she couldn't seem to fall asleep. So many thoughts were rushing around in her head at such an incredible speed that she couldn't keep her eyes closed for very long. Her emotions were on a tidal wave of low-self esteem and frustration to really low self-esteem and frustration.

Meanwhile, Aries and Aquarius were slumbering soundly, despite the fact that they hadn't gone through the same events that Alu did back in Onibus. It was like they didn't have a care in the world.

Alu envied them.

"I seem to envy a lot of people lately," she said downheartedly to herself. "Even my friends. Ur maybe a stuck up know-it-all, but I have to admit, she knows how to handle Water Magic. Ash is almost as good as his dad at Ice Maker Magic. And is innate ability to learn quickly helps a lot. Heck, even Carol has more talent than me, and she doesn't even have Magic at all. But she can create all sorts of weapons and armor by combining of her dad's Dragon Iron with Magic Lacrimas. Not to mention, she's a master swordsman thanks to Pantherlily's training. I wouldn't be surprise if she could go toe-to-toe with Erza in someday."

Alu looked down at her left hand and lit up a small ball of pale fire in her palm. She frowned sadly as she stared at it. It wasn't the strong radiant red and orange that her father had, despite the fact that it was Dragon Slayer Magic, just like his.

"And then there's me: the little Weak Link of Fairy Tail. My fire looks sickly and I can only summon two Spirits at a time. I just don't understand it. I was born with these two kinds of Magic, but I can barely use them to their full potential. You'd think I'd be the most powerful Wizard in the guild. But I'm just pathetic. So what's the point of having this trait anyway? I bet my parents weren't as pitiful as me when they were my age."

Alu shut her eyes tightly as the thought of her parents roused the memories of what happened earlier that day. She clenched her fist and extinguished her small flame, remembering the look on father's face as she bolted away from him. She lowered her head into her hands and braced her elbows on her thighs. She sat still like that for about five minutes, just listening to the crackle of the campfire.

After a while, she reached under her vest to the pocket on her belt and pulled Aquarius's broken key off of the chain. She held it in the palm of her right hand and stared at it for a moment. With a troubled frown, she closed her eyes and closed her fingers around the hilt.

"I know Mom and Dad are looking for me. But for what? So I can get kicked out of the guild for breaking more stupid rules? I can't go back. Not now. Not until this key is repaired. Once I've done that, then…just maybe…I'll finally be accepted. And not be seen as a half-wizard anymore."

* * *

 _In a hotel in Onibus…_

Meanwhile, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and the others who had joined them on their search for Alu, all check into a local hotel for the night. The arrangements worked out by them getting four rooms. Gray and Ash let Romeo stay with them. Erza shared a room with Wendy and Carla. Gajeel and Carol had a room of their own, as did Natsu, Lucy and Happy.

Around the time of eleven thirty at night, Happy was fully asleep on a large pillow that rested on a chair in the corner of the room. He purred contently, having a nice dream about fish. It was plain to see that not even the loudest train in the all of Fiore would wake him up, even if it was passing by directly outside the window.

If only the same could be said for Natsu and Lucy. Both of them were fill almost to the brim with anxiety and confusion about their runaway daughter. For a while, neither one spoke to each other. They tried so hard to fall asleep, but those agonizing thoughts of Alu's actions that day, as well as the wonderings of where she was now, haunted them like a wicked spector.

Finally, Lucy broke the silence.

"Natsu," she whispered. "Do you think Alu is okay?"

Natsu didn't respond. He just laid flat on his back and stared up into the darkness of the ceiling.

"I'm sure she's fine," he said at last. "You know she's a tough kid."

"I wish I was as sure as you." Lucy sighed sadly. "But just don't understand why she would run away like this. I…I can't help but think we might have done something wrong. Like it's our fault somehow."

Natsu said nothing. He didn't know if he could answer that. He just bit his lip and fell silent. He wanted to believe that he and Lucy has raised Alu as best as they could, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they might have missed something crucial. He knew from the beginning that being a parent wasn't going to be easy, but even he couldn't imagine that it would be as hard as this.

As Natsu was thinking about this, the sound of Lucy sniffling caught his attention. He turned his head over to his left to look at her lying beside him. She was resting on her side with her back towards him so he couldn't see her face. However, he could tell from her shaky breathes and shivering body that she was crying. She was trying so hard to hold back her emotions as best she could, but she just couldn't anymore.

"Why?" Lucy whimpered. "First Mom, then Dad, Aquarius, and now Alu. Why does everyone I love leave me?"

Natsu looked at his wife, his eyebrows lowing in sympathy. He understood her pain of losing a member of the family. There were times when he still felt the agonizing tug in his heart whenever he thought of losing his foster father, Igneel. And now he was feeling that same jerk again, only now it was because his daughter was lost. While he knew that Alu was still alive, he couldn't stop the ache from happening.

Still, he knew he had to be strong for Lucy's sake.

Natsu turned over on his side, moved closer, and gently wrapped Lucy in his arms. He felt her stiffen for a moment as the gesture surprised her, but she didn't reject his embrace. She welcomed it.

Natsu held her close to him, feeling the soft fabric of her nightdress press up against his abdomen. He closed his eyes and rested his cheek against her soft, golden hair for a moment. He then tilted his face and gently kissed her temple.

"I love you, Lucy," he whispered in her ear. "And I'm still here."

Lucy kept her eyes closed and relaxed. She gave a small, thankful smile and cuddled up against Natsu until she could feel his heartbeat on her back. She gently grasped one of his strong arms with her left hand as he shifted his head and rested it in the crook of her neck. She felt as if she was absorbing the strength and hope that the warmth of his body gave off. She breathed steadily as she let it seep through her skin.

While Lucy's feeling of sadness and loss hadn't subsided completely, the horrible loneliness that tortured her heart vanished. Instead, it was replaced with a feeling of security and assurance. She wasn't alone. Not with Natsu beside her.

It didn't matter what situation it was, Natsu always had a way of making her feel safe. Whether it was fighting off enemies with all the brute strength he had, or cradling her in his arms with love and care, she always felt protected whenever he was near.

And he was right. He was still here.

"I promise," Natsu whispered, his breath warming Lucy's neck, "I'll find Alu and bring her back."

"I'm coming with you." Lucy whispered back. "Don't forget, Alu's my daughter, too. I'll do whatever it takes to bring her home."

Natsu paused for a moment before finally nodding. He knew that there was no use in arguing with Lucy on this one. She was a dedicated mother, and she was going to find Alu no matter what.

"And Natsu," Lucy said softly.

"Hm?"

"I love you, too. I'll always be here for you."

Natsu smiled at that statement and nuzzled his face deeper into Lucy's neck, whispering, "I know."

Finally, the couple managed to fall asleep.

* * *

 _In the city of the Sabertooth Guild…_

Under the starry sky, the Sabertooth Celestial Wizard, Yukino Agria, stood on a bridge that overlooked the city, her faced turned up to the heavens. As a gentle breeze swept over her, she tightened her snowy-white shawl around her shoulders. She looked up and down the bridge for any sign of the man she was waiting for. She then took a peek at the little time-keeping Lacrima on her wrist. About fifteen minutes had passed since the appointed time she was supposed to meet him.

He was never this late.

"I guess Rogue must've gotten held up," she said calmly. "But I know he'll be here soon."

Just then, Yukino heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She turned with a smile, expecting it to be Rogue. However, that smile vanished when she saw that it was someone else.

Someone she didn't recognize.

It was a person in a dark cloak. Their face was concealed by the hood, so Yukino couldn't make out their identity.

"Who are you?" she asked cautiously.

The next thing Yukino knew, something shot out of the shadow's of the stranger's cloak and headed straight for her. It happened too fast that she didn't have time to summon any of her Celestial Spirits, let alone dodge out of the way. She was struck in the chest by a black tentacle-like appendage, and her whole body froze like she had been petrified. She opened her mouth to cry for help, but no scream came out. Her golden-brown eyes, widened with shock, pain and horror, slowly began lose their light. Her whole world disappeared into darkness.

Finally, the black tentacle pulled out a shining aqua-colored orb from her chest. Yukino swayed for a moment, and then fell to the ground.

The dark tentacle that held her soul captive slithered back to its master like a snake, and placed it in his outstretched hand. As he closed his fist around it, he absorbed its power and briefly glowed in a purplish-gold aura.

A sinisterly pleased grin spread across his face.

"First step completed," he said in a low voice. "Now onto phase two."

With that, the stranger disappeared back into the shadows of the night.

A second or two later, a man with onyx-black hair came running up on the other side of the bridge. He wore a dark grey cloak with a white Sabertooth insignia on the left side, just over his shoulder.

The man's name was Rogue Cheney.

Flying beside him was an adorable little green Exceed dressed in a pink frog suit. The Exceed's name was Frosch.

"Yukino," Rogue said apologetically as he walked up the bridge, "sorry I'm late, I had some things to…"

Rogue's sentence died in his mouth the moment Yukino's fallen form came into view.

"Yukino!" he exclaimed.

The Shadow Dragon Slayer immediately dashed over to the young woman and knelt down to her level. Her back rose and fell steadily, showing that she was still breathing, and she didn't seem to have any injuries on her.

Still, something was very wrong.

Rogue began to shake he shoulder, trying to wake her up.

"Yukino! Yukino! Are you alright?!"

"Rogue, what's wrong with her?" Frosch asked in a frightened voice as he landed beside his partner. "Why won't she wake up?"

"I don't know, Frosch." Rogue answered with a small sign of distress in his tone.

It was at that moment that something struck Rogue like a brick to the head. Yukino was ice cold, and her skin had gone ash-pale. His eyes widened in terror for a moment, and he feared the worst. Hoping he was wrong, he quickly but carefully rolled the white-haired Celestial Wizard over onto her back and placed two fingers against her neck. He felt her pulse, and his face went white.

She was breathing, she had a pulse, but she was as cold as death and not responding.

That could only mean that the worst had indeed happened.

Rogue didn't waste another moment. He immediately scooped the unconscious Yukino up in his arms ran as fast as he could towards the Sabertooth guildhall. Frosch summoned his Aera wings and flew after the Shadow Dragon Slayer.

"Rogue, what's wrong?!" he asked, worried.

"I'll explain later, Frosch!" Rogue said, his voice filled with fear. "Right now, we have to get Yukino to the guild!"

* * *

 _The Sabertooth Guild, the next morning…_

In the main hall of the Sabertooth Guild, all of the members stood about, asking each other questions with concern. The only information they had been given earlier was that there had been an incident, and that everyone needed to be present. Naturally, they were all curious as to what had happened that warranted this assembly. At the same time, they were afraid of the news they would hear. They knew their Guild Master would only summon all of them like this if there was a crisis of some kind.

They were all going to get their answer soon.

After a few minutes, Sting entered the room with Rogue and Minerva beside him. Upon seeing their Guild Master, the whole room fell silent, and everyone turned to give their guild master their attention. They were like soldiers waiting for their general to give them an order. They became even more worried when they saw the trio.

Minerva had a stern, grave expression; Rogue's whole body was tense and his mouth was tightened with repressing anger; and Sting had a vicious scowl on his face.

As the Light Dragon Slayer reached his seat at the front of the room, he turned and looked out over the assembled crowd.

"Brothers and sisters of Sabertooth," he addressed in a low, firm voice, "a heinous crime was inflicted on a member of our guild."

The Sabertooth wizards all gasped in unison and began to exchange nervous expressions.

Sting continued in a voice that was as bitter as poison.

"Last night, Yukino was attacked. Whoever assaulted her didn't killed her, but they did something even more unforgivable. They stole her soul."

The whole room fell silent and everyone stared in horror. Even the strongest and bravest wizards of the guild felt a shiver of fear run down their spines.

For someone to have the soul stolen was a fate worse than death. They would be just an empty shell, neither alive nor dead. Unless their soul was returned to them, they would remain in a comatose state for eternity.

After he relayed this news to them, Sting clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in fury. His whole body shook with rage, and his Dragon Slayer Magic was beginning to spark around him.

"Out of all the things they could've done, they did this!" he snarled. "Anyone who harms a member of our guild, our family, will not escape! Whoever did this has now made themselves an enemy of the Sabertooth Guild!"

Suddenly, Sting's power erupted in a white-hot anger. His wrath was so great that it caused him to enter Dragon Force. His eyes blazed, and his expression deepened into an even more dangerous scowl.

"We'll show the bastard who dared to hurt Yukino like this just how bad they screwed up! We'll hunt them down and show them just how deadly an angry tiger can be!"

The whole guild suddenly erupted in furious shouts and yells of revenge, raising their fists high into the air. Their fear and shock had quickly been replaced with a vengeful and righteous anger and rage after their Master's rousing speech. No one did something like this to a member of their guild and got away with it. Especially to someone like Yukino, who was the kindest and sweetest person in their guild.

They would not rest until they found the one who committed this crime, and exacted justice.

* * *

After the guild meeting, Rogue left the room in silence and headed towards the infirmary. For a while, he just stood at Yukino's bedside, looking down at her pale face. She might have looked like she was asleep, but he knew that this was a slumber that she wouldn't wake from. Not so long as her soul was still missing.

Rogue frowned in guilt. Ever since he found out what happened to her, he felt horribly responsible for it. If he had only gotten to her sooner, he might have been able to protect her from whoever took her soul.

But he was too late. He should've been there, but he wasn't. Now this had happened to her.

"I'm sorry, Yukino," he muttered. "It's my fault this happened to you. If only I had been there sooner. I could've saved you. Please, forgive me."

The Shadow Dragon Slayer then leaned over and cupped his right hand around the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. His left hand reached inside his pocket and clasped something inside it.

"But I promise you, I'll get your soul back," he vowed. "And when I do, I'll tell you what I was going to tell you last night. Just hang on until then. I know you can."

Rogue slowly removed his hand and stood up straight. He looked down at the Celestial Wizard one more time before silently turning around and walking out of the infirmary. As he left, he closed the door softly behind him.

Frosch was waiting for him with a sad expression on his face. His big, puppy-dog eyes were brimmed with tears, and he was shivering a little.

"Rogue," he whimpered, "is Yukino going to be okay?"

Rogue stopped and looked down at the ground for a moment. He closed his eyes in deep thought, summoning all of the hope he had left inside him. He had to believe that he could help Yukino, and that she was going to make it. He just had to.

Finally, with a forced smile, he nodded and looked back up at his Exceed partner.

"Don't worry, Frosch," he answered. "She'll be fine. I know we'll save her somehow."

Frosch smiled at the encouraging statement.

"I think so, too," he said.

"C'mon, let's go."

With that, Rogue and Frosch headed towards the guildhall's exit.

As they stepped out into the morning sunlight, Rogue narrowed his eyes and thought to himself,

 _"I swear, when I find the one who did this, I'll make them pay!"_


	14. Chapter 14: Fire Legacy

**Chapter 14**

 **Fire Legacy**

 _The next morning, Onibus Train Station…_

After checking out of the hotel, the Fairy Tail wizards all headed down towards the train station, where they discussed their next plan of action.

"So you and Carol are heading back home?" Erza asked Gajeel.

"Don't see why we should stick around." Gajeel replied gruffly. "Alu made it clear yesterday that she doesn't want to come home."

"All the more reason why we should go after her." Natsu glared. "What kind of father just abandons his daughter like that? What if Carol ran away? Would you just leave her, or would you go after her yourself?"

Gajeel looked at Natsu for a moment, raising one of his eyebrows. He then glanced over at Carol, who was staring at him with a plain expression. She seemed to already know his answer, even though he didn't verbally state it.

Gajeel understood Natsu's feelings completely. Being that he was a father himself, of course he would go after Carol if she ran away. However, Gajeel's situation was different. He never had to worry about his daughter running off on dangerous jobs without permission. Carol wasn't like Alu in that regard. While Alu acted purely on impulse, Carol was more practical.

Gajeel couldn't even begin to imagine her running away for any reason.

But Alu was a different story altogether. Gajeel would even dare to say that she was more reckless than both her father and mother combined. By now, the Iron Dragon Slayer had lost count of the times that either Natsu or Lucy had to go after their kid. Not to mention all of the times they had to save her life because of her own rashness.

Yet, despite all that, Natsu still went after that little troublemaker.

"I swear, Salamander," Gajeel said in a low voice, shaking his head. "Someday that kid of yours going to be the death of you."

"Dad!" Carol barked, giving the man a stern glare.

"Hey, I'm just stating the obvious," the Iron Dragon Slayer shrugged.

"No, you're not." Lucy scowled. "You're being pessimistic. We're going to find Alu."

"Well, she's your kid, not mine. Just don't be surprised if she tries to escape from you again."

Natsu's glared deepened so much that he started to bare his teeth. Not only did it hurt him to hear such things, be he also couldn't help but have a small premonition in the back of his mind that Gajeel might be right.

However, Natsu wasn't the type to dwell on problems for to long. He immediately shoved the horrible idea out like it was nothing but trash.

"If she does then we'll just keep on chasing her until we catch her," he declared. "We're not going to let her go like that."

Gajeel was just about to speak again when the train pulling into the station came to a stop and the doors opened. Out of one them stepped two Sabertooth wizards with a little ginger cat with wings following close behind them.

It was Sting with his Exceed partner, Lector, and Minerva.

The three of them turned to their left and saw the Fairy Tail wizards just a few yards away.

"Natsu!" Sting called out as they approached them.

All the Fairy Tail wizards turn to see their allies walking towards them.

"Sting, Minerva, Lector." Lucy greeted. "What are you doing here?"

The three Sabertooth wizards looked at each other for a moment, their faces hardening in painful anger. This already told the others that something was wrong.

Finally, Minerva grimaced and turned back to the blond-haired woman.

"Last night, Yukino was attacked," she said gravely.

Everyone suddenly became alert at that explanation.

"What?!" Lucy gasped. "Yukino was attacked?! Is she okay?!"

Silence.

For a second or two, none of the Sabertooth wizards would give an answer. Lucy looked at Natsu with rising worry. Natsu looked back at her, knowing exactly what she was thinking. He was thinking the same thing.

Whatever happened to Yukino wasn't good.

Finally, Sting said in a dark voice, "'Fraid she's not. Someone stole her soul."

That was enough to make all of the Fairy Tail wizards gasp in alarm. Everyone knew that only one kind of power could've done that.

It wasn't Magic Power. It was Curse Power.

The older generation of Fairy Tail had an experience with this kind of power, back in the darker chapters of their lives. For Ash and Carol, although they themselves had never encountered this kind of power before, they heard enough from their parents and other members of the guild to know that it was something bad.

"You think…Tartaros is back?" Natsu asked hesitantly.

Although Natsu had spoken in a composed tone, there was a very small hint of dread in his voice.

At the mention of Tartaros, Lucy turned to look at her husband with concern. While his expression was one of suspicion, Lucy could tell that it was just one of his masks to conceal his fear. For Natsu's face had turned very white, and he was shivering a little.

Lucy knew why.

While everyone had a horrible experience with Tartaros, Natsu had probably one of the worse ones, both during and after the incident. That Dark Guild was just a reminder of his connection to Zeref, the Wizard of Darkness. Even to this day, just the very mention certain things like Tartaros, Alvarez, or anything connected to Zeref was enough to make Natsu tense up a bit.

He still hadn't quite gotten over the fact that Zeref had brought him back to life in the form of a Demon, E.N.D. And that Demon side of him was what caused so much chaos and mayhem ever since Tartaros attacked.

Natsu was just lucky he was able to get out of all of it alive, and regain his human existence.

Sensing his distress, Lucy reached out and placed a gentle hand on his right shoulder, her thumb resting over his guild mark. He glanced over at her, his onyx-black eyes meeting her soft brown ones. He took a small inhale of air and released the tension in his body. Just looking at her reminded him that something good had come out of that ordeal in his life.

One thing Natsu had to be grateful for was that Zeref's efforts gave him the chance to meet Lucy. He was certainly happy to have her in his life.

Before Natsu could think any further on this, Sting interrupted his thoughts.

"I don't know if it's Tartaros," the Sabertooth Master said. "It has been years since we've fought and defeated them, and they haven't showed even the slightest notion that they're still out there. But I guess it is possible."

"Or it could be something like Tartaros." Lector suggested worriedly. "Maybe some people who have learned how to use Curses is trying to recreate what Tartaros left behind."

"That is in the realm of possibility." Minerva said pensively. "Still, we won't know until we have more information."

"All that said, Natsu," Sting addressed the Fire Dragon Slayer, "it's probably a good thing we ran into you. You should keep a close eye on your family for now."

Natsu jerked over to look at the flaxen-haired Dragon Slayer.

"What do you mean?" he asked apprehensively.

"Well, you do have two Celestial Wizards in your family, don't you?" Minerva pointed out. "And while I don't claim this theory to be completely accurate, based on what has happened so far, I think it's safe to assume that whoever attacked Yukino is going after Celestial Wizards."

Both Natsu and Lucy's eyes widened in fear at this news and they looked at each other with even paler faces.

The other Fairy Tail wizards reacted to this piece of information as well. Wendy and Romeo looked at each other with shock; Carla and Happy exchanged worried expressions; Erza turned to Gray and Ash, who looked just as concerned as she was; and Gajeel and Carol looked at each other with uneasiness.

Sting, Minerva, and Lector noticed their reactions. Now they were the ones suspecting that something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" Lector asked. "Did something happen?"

"Alu ran away." Natsu explained quickly. "That's why we're all out here."

"We managed to find her yesterday, but she got away from us." Happy added, bringing a trembling paw up to his mouth. "But if what you say is true, then Alu's in grave danger."

"What's more, Alu has no knowledge of this soul-stealer." Carla stated, becoming more distressed. "If she gets ambushed by them…"

"We have to find her!" Natsu forcefully interrupted, his voice loaded with anxiety. "Now!"

Erza paused for a moment before nodding.

"You're right, Natsu," she said commandingly before turning to the other wizards. "Gajeel, I'll need you to come with us."

Gajeel nodded obediently. He wasn't going to argue about backing out this time.

"Wendy," Erza continued, "you, Carla and Romeo take Carol and Ash back to Fairy Tail. Tell the others at the guild what's going on. Then all three of you join up with us as soon as you can. We can use your help."

"Sure thing." Romeo nodded.

"Wait, Erza!" Ash protested. "We wanna help! If Alu's really in danger, we have to save her!"

"Ash, I know you have good intentions," Gray said, "but it's too dangerous. I can't risk you getting hurt."

"I feel the same way as Ash," Carol stepped forward. "Alu's part of our team, we can't just leave her to be attacked by some soul-stealer. After all, Ash and I are Fairy Tail wizard's, too. Please, let us help."

"Sorry, Carol," Gajeel replied, "but I can't let that happen. You don't how dangerous Curse Power is, and I'm not about to gamble your life. Besides, what would I say to your mom if I came back with the news that something bad happened to you?"

"But Dad-!"

"That's enough, Carol!" the Iron Dragon Slayer said firmly. "You two are going home and that's that!"

Both Carol and Ash tensed for a moment before lowering their heads in frustration. They knew that they weren't going to persuade the adults any further on this.

"Lucy," Natsu said, turning to his wife, "you should go with them."

"What, why?" Lucy asked, almost sounding insulted.

"If this guy is really after Celestial Wizards, you'll be safer back at the guild."

"I can't just leave Alu out there knowing that she could be attacked by some Demon at any moment!" Lucy argued fervently. "I'm coming with you!"

"You don't have to come with me, Lucy." Natsu said.

"Of course I have to come, too! I'm her mother, aren't I?! Besides, you're my husband and I'm with you, for better or worse!"

Whatever reason Natsu had to change his wife's mind instantly died in his throat. He knew at this point that he wasn't going to convince Lucy otherwise. She wasn't just going to save their daughter; she was going to protect him as well, even if he wasn't the one in danger. And it was clear to see the determination in her face. That was who she was, and Natsu had to deal with it.

Finally, Natsu gave in and nodded.

"Okay, but stay close to me at all times," he ordered.

Lucy acknowledged the command. That was fair enough for her.

"Don't forget about me." Happy said. "I'm coming along, too."

"Of course, little buddy." Natsu replied. "We certainly could use your Aera magic."

"In the meantime," Sting interjected, "Lector, M'lady and I will see what we can find. We'll let you know if we find out anything. We'll also contact the other members of our guild and let them know of your situation. Alu might not be a member of Sabertooth, but Fairy Tail is our closest ally. If anyone finds Alu, you'll be the first to know. We'll also keep her out of harms way."

"Thank you, we really appreciate it." Erza replied. "Now let's get moving. We know Alu was heading eastward, so our best bet is to head in that direction as well."

"Best of luck to all of you." Lector encouraged.

With that matter settled, Sting, Minerva, and Lector left the station while the Fairy Tail wizards split up to go on their separate trains. Wendy, Carla and Romeo took Ash and Carol on one heading back to Magnolia; while Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Gray, Erza, and Gajeel boarded onto another that would take them to the next city, which was Clover.

Although the train ride to Clover was going to be a short one, both Natsu and Gajeel took one Troia pill each to prevent their motion-sickness from happening. Given the situation, this wasn't the time to be suffering from nausea.

Well, in Natsu's case, nausea from the shaking and rumbling of the train tracks. However, even after taking that Troia pill, his stomach couldn't stop doing summersaults of anxiety. It was one thing to know that his daughter had run away, but now that Natsu knew there was a soul-stealing psychopath on the loose, and possibly from, or having connections to the Dark Guild Tartaros, he was more determined than ever to find Alu.

He didn't want her to suffer what he went through those years ago. Or worse.

If anything happened to Alu, Natsu would never forgive himself.

"Alu," he said to himself, looking out the window, "wherever you are, please, just be safe."

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

Alu was fast asleep in the back of a traveling cart.

Alu found it hard to fall asleep last night, so she was more than a little groggy when the sun came up. Realizing that they wouldn't get far on foot, she, Aquarius and Aries decided that they would catch a ride to make up for lost time. Luckily, they found a cart on the road about an hour after they had set out.

In about five or so minutes into the road trip, Alu was out like a light. She groaned in discomfort as the jostle of the cart rattled her brain and gave her a headache. The best thing she could do at the moment was to sleep it off.

As she slept, Aquarius and Aries sat side-by-side on the bench opposite of Alu.

"This brat's certainly a little dimwit, isn't she?" Aquarius said with a frown. "And I thought Lucy was a reckless idiot. But even she wasn't dumb enough to make me angry on purpose."

"Well," Aries replied uncomfortably, "Alu just doesn't take insults well. She stands up to everyone, even her closest friends."

"That kind of attitude gets people killed." Aquarius mumbled, looking off to the side.

Aries said nothing. She just glanced away and clasped her hands together in her lap.

"By the way," Aquarius said in a more normal tone, "about her Magic. Was she really born with it?"

"Mm-hmm." Aries nodded. "Although Lucy did train her in Celestial Magic, Alu did show to have a knack for it at a young age. She summoned Lucy's Nikora Spirit, Plue, at the age of four when she was just messing around with her mother's keys on day."

Aquarius blinked at that statement. That young, and Alu could summon a Silver Key Celestial Spirit without even making a contract with them? That was a very rare case.

"When she turned five," Aries continued, looking down at her hands in her lap, "Lucy gave her my key."

"So you were her first Spirit, huh?" Aquarius simply stated. "Did she summon you for stupid reasons, too?"

"I'm sorry, but I didn't think they were stupid." Aries smiled fondly as she reminisced on the past. "She summoned me when she wanted someone to talk to, or even to help her train in martial arts. I have to admit; those days were actually quite fun. And the more I trained with her, well, the more confident I got. She made feel stronger than I've ever felt in a long time."

Aquarius didn't say anything. She just stared intently.

"Unfortunately," Aries continued sadly, "it became clear that she could only summon two Spirits at time. And there are some Spirits she can't summon at all because they take up too much of her Celestial Magic. She tried summoning Leo once, and she was rendered unconscious for two days."

"I see." Aquarius said thoughtfully. "And what of her Dragon Slayer Magic? When did she discover that?"

Aries looked over at Alu for a moment.

"It was when she was eight-years-old," she replied. "She had gotten into a fight with one of her friends. I think it was Ur."

* * *

 _Six Years Ago…_

 _"Bring it on, you soggy-prune!"_

 _"Shut your trap and put up your fists, tulip-head!"_

 _On that insult, Alu pounced off the table and tackled Ur to the ground. There, the two girls rolled around on the floor, kicking and punching each other. While they were at it, they were also shouting to each other names meant to antagonize the other._

 _Meanwhile, everyone else in the Fairy Tail guild either tried to ignore the brawl that was going on, or they were watching with morbid curiosity to see who would win._

 _"I've said this once and I'll say it again," Happy said as he watched from the bar, "it's like Natsu and Gray have shrunk and swapped genders."_

 _"We've heard you the first two hundred times, Happy." Lucy replied irritably._

 _"Well, you gotta admit it's true." Happy shrugged. "Those girls go at it just as often as Natsu and Gray do. If not more often."_

 _"Except Ur has blue hair, not black." Carla pointed out._

 _"Minor details," the blue Exceed said almost bashfully. "She's basically like her dad."_

 _"Do you think we should break them up?" Juvia asked Lucy, uncertain. "I'm worried they're going to hurt each other."_

 _"If their anything like their fathers, then I think they'll be fine." Lucy replied. "After all, this isn't the first time they've gotten into a scuffle. The worst injuries they have sustained is a few bruises."_

 _"I know, but still." Juvia frowned, looking back uncomfortably at the two girls throwing punches at each other._

 _Meanwhile, beside Lucy, Natsu and Gray were watching the fight, too. To be more specific, they were betting on which of their daughters were going to win._

 _"Ur's totally got this fight in the bag." Gray said with smug confidence._

 _"No way!" Natsu rebuked firmly. "Alu's an expert fighter! She's going to kick Ur's butt so hard she won't be able to sit for a week!"_

 _"What'd you say, you pink-haired freak!" Gray shouted, grabbing the collar of Natsu's jacket._

 _"You looking for a fight, you popsicle punk!" Natsu shot back._

 _The next thing everyone knew, Natsu slugged Gray in the face. This made Gray retaliate and knee Natsu in the stomach. That initiated another fight. In a few seconds, Natsu and Gray were duking it with just as much ferocity as a couple of wolves fighting in a pack._

 _The guild now had TWO fights going on. Both of them being a fight between a Dragneel and a Fullbuster. In just a few minutes, everyone was looking back and forth at them. Some members even snickered at the irony of it all._

 _"Should've seen this one coming." Lucy sighed heavily. She was used to this by now that she didn't really think much about it anymore._

 _However, something unexpected was about to happen._

 _In the fight with the girls, Alu managed to kick Ur off of her. But just as she got up, she fell to the floor again, bracing herself up with just her knees and right arm. Her left arm wrapped around her stomach and she grimaced in pain. Ur had previously managed to slam the heel of her boot directly into the center of Alu's abdomen just before she was forced off. Needless to say, it hurt a lot. It knocked the wind out right out of Alu._

 _She strained to hold back her whines of pain._

 _"What's the matter, pinky-princess?!" Ur taunted. "Giving up already?! Just something I would expect from a Celestial Wizard who can't summon more than two Spirits!"_

 _Alu scowled furiously up at Ur, but the little Water Wizard continued regardless of that threatening expression._

 _"Guess you're just as half-strong in strength as you are in Magic!" she finished with a cocky grin._

 _That was it!_

 _Something inside of Alu seemed to spark to life. It was like a kind of power she never knew of that existed inside suddenly came awake, and took control of her body. It drove her to get up and strike back._

 _It was at that moment Natsu sensed something, too. A strange and familiar power seemed to set off a warning in his mind. He was about to punch Gray again when he suddenly stopped and gave a look of utter surprise._

 _He immediately turned to look at Alu. That power seemed to be coming from her._

 _"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Gray asked, confused when he saw Natsu's sudden halt._

 _With a cry of rage, Alu sprung from her spot and leapt high into the air. She rose her right fist into the air and shouted out instinct,_

 _"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!"_

 _On that command, fire suddenly burst around Alu's clenched fist._

 _"What the-?!" Ur shrieked._

 _Ur only had a second to react as that flaming attack shot down towards her. She quickly dived off to the left and rolled back onto her feet, just barely escaping Alu's assault. Alu continued downward until her fist made contact with the table Ur had just been standing in front of. The woodwork instantly shattered from the force of the attack._

 _In that moment, everything seemed to come to a halt._

 _Everyone turned and stared at the young pink-haired girl. They were all flabbergasted with what just happened. It was enough to make Natsu and Gray stop their fight and let go of each other. Ur remained crouched where she was, shivering with both fright and disbelief._

 _Alu was even more stunned than anyone else. When she regained control her senses, she slowly brought her hand up to look at it. Pale fire was blazing around her fist. And it remained alit even after she had uncurled her fingers. But this fire didn't burn her. It didn't even feel hot to her at all._

 _It was a lot like her father's fire. She didn't know how she knew that, she just did._

 _But where did it come from? Alu was never taught Fire Magic._

 _Slowly, everyone began to come out of their shocked states. Some even proceeded to whisper to each other._

 _"Did you see that?"_

 _"Was that Dragon Slayer Magic?"_

 _"Yeah, it was?"_

 _"Where did she learn that?"_

 _"Has Natsu been teaching her that on the sly?"_

 _Lucy, highly confused and disoriented, turned to look at Natsu. Just one glance at his face, and she could tell that he was completely dumbfounded. But that didn't stop her from asking her question._

 _"Natsu," Lucy said precariously, "did you have anything to do with that?"_

 _"No," Natsu replied slowly, shaking his head, "at least…I don't think so."_

 _Alu continued to stare at her hand with wide eyes. The flames around it continued to burn brightly. Cautiously, she brought her left hand up and looked at it. All she had to do was think of fire surrounding that hand as well, and the image became reality. It made her gasp as she realized that both of her hands emanated fire._

 _"I'm a…Dragon Slayer?" she whispered, her voice squeaking a bit._

 _There was a small silence. The flames around Alu's hands slowly burned out and extinguished altogether._

 _Then suddenly, Alu threw her hands up in the air and lifted her head, letting out an ecstatic laughter that startled the whole guild._

 _"I'M A DRAGON SLAYER!" she cried joyfully._

 _With a new burst of energy coursing through her, Alu dashed from her spot and over to her father._

 _"DADDY, DADDY!" she happily shrieked. "DID YOU SEE THAT?! I'M A DRAGON SLAYER JUST LIKE YOU!"_

 _Natsu's expression turned into a huge smile. As Alu reached him, he picked her up by her waist and lifted her high above his head, laughing just as much as she was. Alu stuck her arms and legs out like she was attempting to fly as her father twirled her around._

 _"Yeah, I saw it!" Natsu said elatedly. "Talk about awesome!"_

 _Natsu then dropped Alu down into his arms and the two shared a heart-felt embrace. Alu grasped onto her father's scarf as she rubbed her face against his shoulder. She didn't know why at the time, but knowing that she shared this power with her father made her feel even more close to him than before. She had always been told that she was the spitting image of Natsu for as long as she could remember. And now this only confirmed just how alike the two really were._

 _But Alu didn't care. She always looked up to her father. And now, with this newfound power, she felt like she had more of a chance to be just like him._

 _Lucy, who had now recovered from the recent shock, and was smiling proudly, got up from her spot and ran over to hug both her husband and daughter._

 _"A Celestial Wizard and Dragon Slayer!" the blond-haired women declared. "Our daughter is a Celestial Wizard and Dragon Slayer!"_

 _Feeling the jubilation in the air, the whole guild erupted in supportive cheers and shouts. Some were even celebrated about how the guild now had five Dragon Slayers in it, and that Alu would make them even more unstoppable. Especially since this new Dragon Slayer could use Celestial Magic, too._

 _"Talk about one of a kind!"_

 _"I've never heard of someone being a Dragon Slayer and Celestial Wizard!"_

 _"With a wizard like that in our guild, nothing can stop us now!"_

 _All those words of encouragement made Alu's heart swell with pride and she couldn't stop smiling._

 _However, not everyone was as festive about this revelation._

 _Gray hadn't come out of his state of shock. The only thing that had registered in his mind at this point was that the guild now had TWO Fire Dragon Slayers. For him, that meant only twice the destruction for the guild._

 _"Two pyromaniacs," he mumbled to himself. "Great, as if one wasn't enough. And I don't know which of them is worse: the father or the daughter."_

* * *

 _Back to the Present…_

"Hmph," Aquarius simply said, "interesting story, I guess. But did it really take her that long to find out something like that?"

"Probably," Aries said, "I'm not sure why, but Alu just happened to figure it out then. She loves her Magic because it reminds her that she is the daughter of two strong and brave wizards of Fairy Tail. And I know she loves her parents very much, even if she doesn't see eye-to-eye with them all the time."

Aquarius looked over at Alu with an ambiguous expression. Now she understood why Alu got so angry when the Water Spirit called her flames pathetic. Alu didn't see it as an insult to herself, she saw it as an insult to her father. And based on what Aquarius was told, Alu held Natsu in pretty high regard, even if she didn't admit it out loud.

"And at the time," Aries continued sadly, "when they found out she was also a Dragon Slayer, it seemed to explain why she was only half-strong in Magic. She has two kinds of Magic inside of her, but she can't seem to get them to work together. They seem to have their own separate vessels instead of being part of one big one. All I know is that this is what makes Alu so frustrated most of the time. No matter what she does, she just can't seem to get up to the level she wants."

Aquarius lowered her head pensively, "It's probably because of…"

Aquarius trailed off and leaned back in her seat with a slight look of disappointment.

Aries made a disheartened face and looked down at the floor.

"Yeah, I think so, too," she said to herself.

For the rest the ride, the two Zodiac Spirits didn't speak a single word to each other. They just sat in silence. All that could be heard was the rumbling of the cart on the dirt road, and the occasional moan and groan from the sick wizard across from them.

* * *

 _"Did you see that?!"_

 _"I don't believe it!"_

 _"She slayed that Dragon!"_

 _"I've never seen anyone do that before!"_

 _"But she used a Dragon, too!"_

 _"What is she?!"_

 _"Wait! She's one of those Dragon Slayers, isn't she?!"_

 _"Dragon Slayer? Hmm, that's actually not a bad name for a wizard. And it does seem like a fitting title. So yes, I guess I am a Dragon Slayer."_


	15. Chapter 15: Searching for the Soul

**Chapter 15**

 **Searching for the Soul**

 _That night…_

Just after sunset, in the middle of a large clearing, Alu, Aries, and Aquarius set up their camp spot. After getting the fire pit assembled, Alu snapped her fingers and lit the firewood with her Dragon Slayer fire. The flames she conjured immediately began to lick around the wood and create a good-sized campfire that gave off warm waves of heat.

At the same time, Aries pulled out two vials of Astral Elixir from her hip-pouch. She walked over to Aquarius, who was sitting on a fallen tree trunk, and handed her one of the vials. After the Aquarius took the vial, the Golden Ram Spirit walked over to another fallen log and sat down. The two Spirits then removed the lids from the small vessels and drank down the glowing purple liquid.

"How many of those do you have left?" Alu asked Aries.

"One each." Aries replied. "But that should be enough to get us to the Valley of Gates. That carriage ride helped us get ahead of schedule. We should be there by tomorrow."

"Well, that's good news." Alu sighed. "The sooner we get this key repaired the better."

"Excuse me?" Aquarius said suddenly, shooting Alu a nasty look. "What's that suppose to mean?"

Alu looked over at Aquarius with a scowl of her own. The Water Spirit was about to get on her last nerve.

"I mean the soon I get the key repaired the sooner I can explain to my parents why I really left." Alu explained sourly before glancing away and mumbling to herself, "And the sooner I can get you off my back."

"I heard that!" Aquarius snapped. "If you got something nasty to say about me, then just say it to my face, 'kay?!"

"Okay, fine!" Alu said indignantly, leaping to her feet. "You wanna know what I really think of you?! Well, I think you're an arrogant and selfish jerk who just threatens people to get them to do what you want! There, I said it, to your face!"

"Uh, Alu…" Aries stuttered in a small voice. But Aquarius cut her off.

"Is that so?!" the Water Spirit shouted, springing off of her log. "Look who's calling who selfish! I bet you just want to repair my key just because you're desperate for praise! If you think repairing my key will make you popular, then you're dumber than I thought! Besides, it's your fault that we lost so much time to begin with! You didn't even have the common sense to leave a note or something before we left!"

"Oh, so it's MY fault that my overly-protective parents are after us?!" Alu shouted angrily. "Even if I did leave a note they would still come after me! They can't leave me alone for five minutes! So what you said isn't even valid!"

"All I'm saying that if you weren't just as big of a bimbo as your mother, we wouldn't have her or your brainless father on our tails!"

Alu flinched at that remark and her eyes flashed.

"What'd you say?!" she snarled viciously.

"You heard me!" Aquarius replied spitefully. "Your mother's just a blond bimbo and a spoiled brat! Honestly, she would summon me for the most ridiculous reasons! She even summoned me in the middle of her bath once! She had no grace whatsoever! Honestly, I'm surprised that she ever managed to win any man's heart! Then again, her husband is a stupid hothead with little to no brain inside that thick skull of his! It's no wonder they ended up together! They're both a couple of freaks! It was…!"

Suddenly, the campfire burst into a pillar of intensely burning flames that lashed around violently, whipping all the way up to the sky. Aquarius looked over quickly to see what was going on.

She immediately fell silent.

Alu was scowling at her. But this scowl was different from her other ones.

Her lips were pressed together tightly, her jaw locked with gritted teeth, and the upper part of her body expanded and deflated with restrained breathing. Her fists were clenched so hard that sparks of fire were flickering around them.

However, it was Alu's eyes that were the scariest. They were blazing with undeniable anger, just like the fire beside her. They looked as if Alu wanted to vaporize Aquarius with just her stare.

Aries leaned back in her seat with her arms up protectively in front of her body. She couldn't help but shiver with fear. She had seen Alu furious before, but this was a whole different level.

Aquarius saw it, too. For a moment, she stared at the young wizard with a defensive expression. It was unclear of what Alu was going to do next. Although the most predicable response would be violence. Since Aquarius had seen that this girl was a lot like her father, she was expecting the girl to suddenly charge forward and try to slug her across the face.

But Aquarius was ready for that. She was a Spirit made for battle. She could handle a fight.

However, what Alu did next shocked the two Celestial Spirits.

She spoke. She didn't shout or yell; she just spoke.

"You listen to me, Aquarius." Alu's voice was dangerously low. "You can insult me and beat me down all you want. I don't give a damn about what you say about me, or what you do to me. You can threaten to throw me into the ocean and let me drown. You can even carry out that threat and still I won't care. I'm used to insults and getting beaten to a pulp. I'll just get back up again.

"But there's one thing I won't tolerate, and it's YOU talking TRASH about my parents. Especially when you have no right to. My dad's the greatest hero I've ever known. He's risked his life to save the guild, his family, his comrades, and even complete strangers on countless occasions. And my mom is a strong woman who cares for everyone around her. She, too, has saved the lives of many others."

Alu then took out the hilt of Aquarius key and held it up for the Water Spirit to see.

"You wanna know why I'm going through all of this?" the girl continued. "Why I'm putting up with your stupid attitude and insults? Why I even ran away from everyone in my guild back in Onibus? It's BECAUSE of my mom. She told me all about the Tartaros incident and how she had to break your key to summon the Celestial Spirit King."

Aquarius didn't make much of a reaction, but there was certainly a curious glint in her eyes.

"That's right." Alu went on. "She also told me how heartbroken she was to lose you, even after you said you hated her. Even after all the torment you put her through over the years just because you were so "moody", she was still sad to lose you. Only someone with a big heart like her could care about someone as selfish and ungrateful as you. You may be a Celestial Spirit, and I know your kind have a reputation of being treated as tools. And for your information, I hate any Celestial Wizard who does that. But I also won't tolerate anyone using their attitude as a way to exert power over others. I don't care about your "moody" attitude, and I'm not going to back down just because you threaten me. I will stand up to you, especially if you insult my family."

Alu then narrowed her eyes before saying, "And there's something else you should know. The "spoiled brat" that you hated so much wants you back. Not because she views you as some tool like other wizards, but because she wants her first friend back. Why don't you think about that?"

There was a long silence.

Finally, Alu exhaled deeply and lowered her gaze. She then shoved Aquarius's key hilt back into her belt pocket, turned around, and stormed away from the campsite. As she disappeared among the trees and shadows, the pillar of fire that stretched up to the sky began to shrink down rapidly. In a few seconds, it disappeared altogether, leaving behind nothing but ash, pieces of burnt wood, and smoked-stained rocks.

Aries looked on the direction Alu took with a surprised expression. That was certainly a side of Alu even she had never seen before. She had known Alu ever since the girl was little, and she had never seen her do something like that before. She was so sure that the wizard was going to try and beat the snot out of Aquarius, not speak in the manner that she did.

Aries then turned to look at Aquarius.

Aquarius wasn't tensed with anger or humiliation like Aries was expecting. She didn't even look like she was plotting to get revenge on Alu for what she said to her.

She looked…satisfied.

"A…Aquarius?" Aries whispered softly. "Were you trying to provoke her?"

Aquarius simply lowered her head and smiled. Aries eyes widened and she inhaled sharply. For once in a long time, Aquarius actually looked genuinely happy. She wasn't even trying to hide the smile.

"Seems that he was right," Aquarius said contently. "C'mon Aries, you should've noticed it a long time ago, seeing as you've been with her for a long time. She might be a little different than before, but it's her alright."

Something began to glimmer in Aries irises, and a smile began to grow across her face.

* * *

After walking a good distance away from the campsite, Alu stopped at the edge of river and sat down on a large boulder. She glared down at the grass between her feet and clenched her fists. She held her breath for a moment or two before letting the air out steadily through her nose, closing her eyes as she did. She then lowered her head into her hands and braced her arms against her knees.

She kept thinking about what happened at the camp. Specifically, what she did. Or rather, what she didn't do.

Alu's first impulse to any insult was usually give an angry shout, or a cheap-shot to the face. She wanted to do that to Aquarius. She wanted to take out all of her anger on the Water Spirit. But she didn't. It was like something else took control of her and made her fight back with words. And she didn't speak in a loud voice either, but it felt so powerful nonetheless.

But the question was why.

Why did she do that?

Alu didn't know.

As Alu continued to think over what had happened, she covered her eyes with the palms of her hands. It was like she had so many thoughts swirling around in her head that they were starting to jumble her brains.

And the more she thought about things, the more vulnerable her emotions were becoming.

"What am I doing?" she mumbled to herself. "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. As much as I hate to say it, maybe Aquarius was right. Maybe I'm just doing this for myself. Maybe I'm not really doing this for Mom."

Alu lowered her right hand and looked at it with her uncovered eye. She frowned sadly as she stared at it.

"I'm just not sure about anything," she moaned. "I don't even know who I am. How pathetic is that? I just want to know who I am, is that so much to ask?"

Alu covered her face again. "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. I'm so confused. I don't even know what I should be feeling right now. And these weird dreams I've been having lately aren't helping. I don't really remember them, but I've been waking up feeling dazed by them. I must be losing my mind."

Having nothing else to say, Alu sat in silence. She had completely forgotten about the forest around her. Everything was so quiet that she didn't pay attention to it. She was completely absorbed in her own thoughts.

However, something was about to change everything. Not just Alu's current state of mind, but her whole journey as well.

A sudden, distant cry caught Alu's attention. It was enough to snap her out of her trance. She lifted up her head and looked over in the direction it was coming from. She sat still for a moment and listened carefully.

"Help!" the voice called out. "Somebody help me!"

Someone was in danger. That alone was enough to change Alu's mind from despair to determination.

She immediately leapt off the boulder and set out running in the direction where the cries were coming from. As she drew closer, she was starting to hear other things, too. One was a noise that sounded like electricity being whipped around violently. The other was a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. It seemed to be laughing with a kind of twisted pleasure.

What in all of Earth Land was going on?

Eventually, Alu came upon another clearing. Just as she was about to rush out of the forest and into the open, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in disbelief. For a split second, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

In the middle of the clearing, a little purple female Exceed that was garbed in a blue dress was running across the grass as fast as her tiny legs could carry her. She screamed in terror as a lightning whip attacked her from all angles. No matter where she turned, that whip would cut her off or attempt to strike her.

However, it was who was controlling the whip that made Alu stare in horror.

"Virgo?!" she said in an exclaimed whisper. "No, it can't be!"

Indeed, Alu was definitely looking at someone who looked like the Celestial Spirit, Virgo the Maiden. And yet, this person was different somehow. She wasn't dressed in Virgo's normal maid outfit, and she didn't have a sweet, composed expression on her face.

The Virgo that Alu was looking at now had on a black and gold, body-tight outfit. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her expression was one of maniacal pleasure.

It was like her personality had been warped.

Virgo threw another whip attack at the little Exceed. This time, it struck the little cat across the back. She let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground.

"You're cries of pain are like music to my ears," the crazy Virgo sneered with indulgence. "Weak little things are always so much fun to get a scream out of. I wonder how many you have left."

The little Exceed whimpered and braced herself for another attack. However, just before Virgo's attack landed a blow, Alu ran out of the forest, snatched up the little cat creature in her arms, and darted away. The whip just barely missed the heel of her left foot. Alu clutched the little Exceed protectively as she ran a little distance away from the attack. After a few feet, she came to a stop.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked the Exceed in her arms.

The Exceed opened her eyes and looked up at Alu with big baby-blue eyes.

"Wh-Who are you?!" she asked, her voice shaking with fear.

"Don't worry, I'm from Fairy Tail." Alu replied. "I'm here to help."

"My, my," the crazy Virgo drawled, "what have we here? A Fairy Tail wizard?"

Alu narrowed her eyes and looked back up at the deranged Virgo. The Exceed in her arms shivered and nestled in closer to her body, seeking protection.

"Listen," Alu said to the Exceed, "get out of here. I can handle this."

Alu carefully set the little cat down and walked forward. The Exceed hesitated. Alu glanced over her shoulder for a second and saw that the Exceed wasn't moving.

"Go on, get out of here!" Alu ordered.

The Exceed flinched at the command. She then turned around and made a dash for the forest.

"She's going to need help!" the Exceed said franticly. "I just hope I can find someone!"

Alu stopped about seven yards away from Virgo and stood firmly.

"Alright, Virgo, what's up?" she demanded. "What are you doing here? And why are you acting like this? You'd better start talking."

"Oh, you must be talking about my inferior double," the crazy Virgo replied snidely.

"Double?" Alu blinked in confusion. "Are you're saying you're not the real Virgo?"

"Oh, I'm real, pinky!" the Spirit scowled, raising her whip as if she was going to attack. "I am of the Neo Zodiac Spirits!"

"Neo Zodiac Spirits?" Alu questioned, suspicion was beginning to show in her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Neo Virgo was about to continue when the trees behind her began to rustle.

"I think I can take things from here, Virgo," a dark, sinister male voice said.

Instantly, Neo Virgo disappeared in a blaze of black and purple orbs.

Alu looked up at the place where the voice came from. She became even more defensive when a person dressed in a dark blue cloak came walking out of the trees towards her. The way he carried himself clearly showed that he was overflowing with an ominous kind of confidence. Although his hood was up, Alu could just barely see part of his face. One distinguishing that she noticed immediately was that he had a long, bristly beard that was dusky black with a few strands of white mixed in.

"Okay, and who are you?" Alu said cautiously.

The stranger stopped a few meters away from the little Fairy Tail wizard. He then made a curious kind of noise, like he was thinking about something.

"Hmm, you seem somewhat familiar," he said at last. "Do I know you?"

Alu raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Probably not. I certainly would've remembered meeting a creep like you. Who are you anyway? Some kind of Celestial Wizard?"

Alu couldn't see the stranger's eyes, but she got the eerily feeling that they were now looking at her guild mark. The only clue she had was that she saw him move his head slightly to her right.

"Fairy Tail, huh?" he questioned, sounding disgusted. "But wasn't your guild mark red?"

Alu's paused and frowned. Now she got was going on.

Of course, her resemblance to her father was coming up again. Whoever this guy was must've had a run-in with Natsu at some point in the past. And now he was getting her confused with the Fire Dragon Slayer.

Somehow, that didn't surprise Alu one bit. Although she couldn't help but think that this guy was an idiot for thinking that.

Still, a small voice in the back of her mind told her not to play the "I'm Natsu's daughter" card just yet. She felt it was best to not bring up her father at all right now.

"Just answer my question," she demanded. "Are you some kind of Celestial Wizard?"

A sly grin came across the man's face, which made Alu apprehensive.

"Never mind, you're not the person I'm thinking of. Though it is quite a shame." he said with a hint of menace in his voice. "As for your question, I guess you could say I am a Celestial Wizard of sorts. And I can see by the keys on your waist that you are one, too."

Alu instinctively covered her Celestial Keys on her belt with her right hand. She stepped back defensively, keeping her left hand raised up.

"Oh, you don't need to worry," the man said, "I have no use for your worthless keys, not now that I have twelve keys of my own."

The man reached under his cloaked and pulled out a large ring with a bunch of keys attached to it. Alu's eyes widened in shock when she saw their designs. She recognized those shapes anywhere.

Those weren't ordinary Celestial Keys. They were Zodiac Keys.

But there was something wrong about them. Instead of being radiant gold, they were blood red.

"Surprised?" the man mocked, jingling the keys in a show-off manner. "I guess you should be. Even I didn't know how powerful a Celestial Wizard's soul could be. Even if this one isn't as powerful as Fairy Tail's Celestial Wizard, it's still pretty impress to say the least."

"Huh?" Alu blinked. "What do you mean 'Celestial Wizard's soul'?"

The man lowered the keys and looked at Alu with an evil smile.

"I'm sure you know Sabertooth's Celestial Wizard, Yukino," he said. "I obtained her powers when I stole her soul."

Alu gasped and froze when she heard that. The man noticed her jolt of fear and snickered.

"And thanks to another special power of mine," he went on, "I created my own Zodiac Spirits. I must say that Celestial Magic is even more powerful than I first thought."

"You're a soul-stealer?!" Alu questioned, her face turning pale. "You're some kind of Demon?!"

"Oh, no," the man said nonchalantly. "I can assure you that I'm no Demon. I'm a wizard, just like you."

Alu swallowed nervously and stepped back.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about having your soul stolen. I have no more use for obtaining Celestial Wizards' souls. Still, you could prove to be useful, considering you're from Fairy Tail."

"What do you mean?" Alu asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Suddenly, before Alu could react, a black tentacle shot out from under the man's cloak and wrapped around her, pinning both her arms to her sides. She let out a terrified and painful scream as it tightened its grip around her like a snake. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, landing hard on her right side. She struggled and squirmed with desperation to get free as the stranger walked over to her. But it was no use. The tentacle had her trapped in its bindings.

When the evil wizard reached her, he knelt down to her level. He then grabbed her chin and pulled her up roughly. This forced her to look him straight in the face. Even though his hood covered most of his head, Alu could just barely make out the cold eyes that were staring straight back into hers. A cold shiver ran down her spine as she looked up into those menacing irises.

She froze like a statue. Something about this guy was not right. She could feel it.

"I know how much Fairy Tail 'loves' their members," he snarled maliciously. "They would do anything to get a member back. But their weakness will be to my advantage. I'm going to use you to get them to hand over one of their three most elite wizards."

"Three elite?!" Alu felt her panic rising. "What are you talking about?!"

"I'm talking about the Dragon Slayers, you naïve child! You're going to help me get one of them!"

Dragon Slayers!

Those two words made Alu's blood turn to ice in her veins. Her face turned white and she began to quiver with terror. For a split second, she completely forgot about her own safety. The moment those two words left this wicked man's mouth, the image of her father flashed in her mind.

Natsu was a Dragon Slayer. And he was Alu's father.

Alu knew from the past that Natsu would do anything to ensure her safety, even if it meant risking his own life. He wouldn't hesitate to give himself up for her and she knew it. And if this crazy soul-stealing wizard wanted a Dragon Slayer…

 _"Dad!"_

Alu couldn't let that happened! She had to protect her family! She had to escape somehow!

Feeling a burst of willpower, Alu yanked her chin out of the evil wizard's grip. She then lunged her head forward and bit down hard on his hand. Her sharpened canine teeth dug into his flesh, and he let out a yelp of agony. When he wrenched his hand out of her mouth, Alu licked her teeth and tasted something like iron. The bleeding bite-mark on the man's hand proved that she had drawn blood.

"Never!" Alu yelled defiantly. "You'll never get your hands on the Dragon Slayers! I won't let you! And I'm not going to help you either!"

The man growled viciously and scowled down at Alu.

"I'm not letting you off the hook so easily!" he spat. "But once I've collected my Dragon Slayer, then I'll end your miserable life! As for now, I'll just have to beat you into submission, you little wretch!"

Alu winced and prepared herself for an attack as the man raised his foot to kick her. She was ready for the pain that was to come.

But before the man could land a blow on her, he was suddenly knocked away by a huge stream of water that shot at him like a cannonball. The impact sent him flying clear across the field of grass. Alu stared, wondering what just happened.

"You listen here, bozo!" a familiar voice said sharply. "Nobody messes with the scruff munchkin but me!"

Alu turned her head to see who had saved her.

Right in front of her, with her silvery urn poised and ready to strike again, was Aquarius.

At the moment, Alu was actually really happy to see the Water Spirit. She couldn't help but give a small, thankful smile.


	16. Chapter 16: Figure from the Dark Past

**Chapter 16**

 **Figure from the Dark Past**

 _Back in Magnolia…_

Ash tossed and turned in his bed, but he just couldn't fall asleep. All he could do was stare into the darkness of the shadows in his room. Eventually, he just lying flat on his back and looking up at the ceiling with a reflective expression.

How could he rest when he knew that there was a deranged soul-stealing monster on the loose? Or that his best friend might run into him at any given moment?

Worry and frustration stirred around inside of him ever since Wendy and Romeo had brought him and Carol back to Magnolia. All he could think about was that Alu was somewhere out there, and was possibly in grave danger. He wanted to do something to help her. She was his teammate after all. He should be there for her. She would do the same for him if it was the other way around. Knowing Alu, if she knew that he or any of the others were in danger, she would fight tooth and nail to save them.

"I have to help her," he whispered. "I know Dad was just looking out for me, but I can't stay here and do nothing. Not when I know my friend's in danger."

At that moment, there was a tapping on the window.

Ash, surprised, turned over and looked over at his window. He nearly had a heart-attack when he saw two dark silhouettes hovering outside the other side of the pane of glass. But before he screamed, he immediately recognized their shapes. One was a human girl. The other was a small, round-eared Exceed with a little sword strapped to his back.

"Carol? Pantherlily?"

Sure enough, it was Carol and Pantherlily. But what were they doing here? And why did they look like they were prepared to go on a mission? They had backpacks, armor, weapons and everything.

Curious, Ash leapt out of bed and ran across the room. He then lifted up the window and leaned out a bit.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Getting you and Ur, of course." Carol replied in the same tone. "You wanna save Alu, don't you?"

"Well, yeah but…"

"If you want to save her then we need to move now." Pantherlily said strictly. "I know Gajeel doesn't want Carol to intervene, but he might be less harsh on her if I come with you guys."

Ash raised an eyebrow.

"I take it you're Mom doesn't know you're here," he said flatly.

"You think I'd be flying outside your window at eleven o'clock at night if she did?" Carol replied sarcastically. "I only let Lily come with me because he threatened to tell Mom if I didn't."

"I'm doing this for Levy's sake." Pantherlily explained with his usual authority. "Your Mom's not going to like it when she finds out you've run away. So, I'm going with you for your own safety."

"Yeah, I know, Lily." Carol shrugged. "And I'm sure we could use your help," she then turned back to the dusky-and-aqua-haired boy. "Anyway Ash, if you're coming, then you better get dressed and get your sister. We have a long journey and we have to leave now."

Ash hesitated for a second. Finally, he narrowed his eyes in agreement and he grinned.

"Okay," he said. "I'll get Ur. Meet us down the street. We'll be there in a few minutes."

"Got it." Carol nodded sharply. "Just be careful."

* * *

 _Back in the forest…_

"Alu, are you okay?" Aries asked, working quickly to untie the tentacle wrapped around her key holder.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alu replied as she sat up. "But how did you guys find me?"

"You can thank Violet for that." Aquarius replied.

"Violet?"

"That's me," a small voice said.

Alu looked over to see the little purple Exceed that she had rescued before come out from behind Aries. She then came up to Alu and grabbed her arm in a caring gesture.

"Oh, hey again." Alu grinned. "Thanks for getting my friends."

"It's the least I could do." Violet said humbly.

Alu stroked the little Exceed head with gratitude.

"Alu, get ready!" Aquarius suddenly ordered. "He's up again!"

The pink-haired girl snapped her head around to glare at the man who had attacked her before. He was back on his feet and looking at the group in front of him with confrontation. Alu quickly got up and took a fighting stance, her face deepening into a fierce scowl.

The man sneered, "Aquarius, huh? I thought your key had been destroyed long ago. I guess if I had known you could still be summoned, I would've made a Neo Zodiac Spirit of you, too."

"Neo Zodiac?" Aquarius raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Aquarius, Aries, he's a soul-stealer!" Alu informed with informative anger. "He took Yukino's soul and is using it to make his own Celestial Spirits!"

"What?!" Aries shrieked in alarm.

"The little pipsqueak is right," the man said with malevolent pride. "Who would have thought that Celestial Magic could be so powerful. And having a whole army at my disposal that blindly follows my command is certainly a blessing. You Spirits certainly are useful tools."

Aquarius didn't say anything, but her eyes flashed in rage. Aries began to tremble at the mention of the word "tool". That word used in that kind of context was enough to bring back horrible memories to the Golden Ram.

"Tools?!" Alu snapped viciously. "That's how you view Celestial Spirits?!"

"Why not?" the man said snidely. "It's not like they die or anything. Why do you think Celestial Wizards summon them?"

"I don't think, I know!" Alu shouted, raising her voice. "I'm a Celestial Wizard, too! A REAL one! Celestial Wizards are supposed to care for their Spirits and treat them as equals! They're supposed to fight together as a team! Anyone who dares to call themselves a Celestial Wizard and treats Spirits like garbage is third-rate crap! And I despise any Wizard who treats their Spirits that way! And I especially hate wizards who take others' powers for their own gain because their too lazy to learn it themselves!"

The man paused for a moment before giving a wicked snicker.

"Well, aren't you a feisty one," he said jeeringly. "But what you think is none of my concern. Now just be a good little girl and surrender and no one will get hurt."

"No way!" Alu shot back. "You think I'm just going to let you take the Dragon Slayers?! If that's what you think then you've got another thing coming!"

At the mention of Dragon Slayers, Aquarius and Aries both reacted. Aries's eyes widened in shock and she inhaled sharply. Aquarius's expression changed to suspicious anger.

"What did you say, Alu?" the Water Spirit asked quickly.

"He's after the Dragon Slayers!" Alu repeated. "My guess is that he wants one of their souls!"

"My, my," the man said tauntingly, "nothing gets by you does it, brat? But I might as well tell you since none of you will be walking away from this alive. You're absolutely right. Once I've taken the soul of a Dragon Slayer, then the Spell will be complete, and I'll achieve ultimate power. All my plans will be complete."

"NEVER!" Alu screeched.

Suddenly, a giant stream of water shot past Alu with wicked speed. It reached the cloaked man and seemed to encase him in a giant ball of raging water. Alu snapped her head over in Aquarius's direction and saw something that surprised her immensely.

Aquarius had a look that was of both fury and protectiveness.

"How dare you!" Aquarius yelled at the dark stranger with poisonous wrath. "What kind of twisted person would go so far as to learn Curse power to steal others' souls?! And to become a more powerful wizard?! You're nothing but a monster! You're not worthy of that power!"

As soon as Aquarius finished that sentence, giant whips of white papery stuff burst out of her water dome and shot straight towards her. Before anyone had the chance to jump in and help, Aquarius was struck with about five of those whips. She cried out in pain as she flew back and slammed into a tree.

"AQUARIUS!" Aries and Alu shouted in alarm.

Violet gasped in fear.

Something in the flimsy but powerful whips caught Alu's attention. Just before they returned to their master, Alu managed to catch a glimpse of what they were made of.

The were made of a thousand little shikigami paper dolls.

"Shikigami Magic?!" she gasped in surprise.

Alu then looked back over at the cloaked man. Aquarius's sudden attack from before had managed to blow his hood off, revealing his face. Alu still didn't recognize him, but even under the moonlight, she could tell that this man had all the qualities of an enemy. His dark eyes were just full of evil and resentment, and even a hint of vague insanity. But they were also filled with some kind of gruesome pleasure for others suffering.

And yet, something about this man told Alu that she knew him somehow. She had never seen him before, but she felt as if she knew him.

One thing she did know for sure was that anyone who could deflect Aquarius's attack with ease was a force to be reckoned with.

This guy was obviously powerful.

"Who ARE you?!" Alu demanded nervously.

"What? No one in Fairy Tail bothered to tell you about me?" the man snarled. "I'm surprised since I almost succeeded in bringing them to their knees eighteen years ago. But that good-for-nothing son of mine turned on me and put a dent in my plans to wipe out Fairy Tail for good."

"Good-for-nothing son?" Alu whispered with uncertainty.

"Oh, come on. You must know of that Dragon-Slayer-wannabe, Laxus."

"Hold on, Laxus is your…!"

Alu didn't even have to finish that sentence. All at once it clicked in her mind and she gasped in fearing shock. Her skin turned even more white and she began to shake with fear. She stepped back as terror filled her eyes.

She DID know this man.

She knew him by reputation.

She had heard people speak of him at the guild before. What she had heard of him was nothing but horror stories. She heard about how he formed a guild called Raven Tail, whose sole purpose was to destroy Fairy Tail. How he sent one of his minions to attack Wendy and Carla just before the Grand Magic Games. And how he had another one of them torment Alu's mother in a match during the Games.

"No!" Alu trembled. "I know you! You're Makarov's son, aren't you! You're…You're Ivan Dreyer!"

The man lifted his head and gave a maniacal laugh that made everyone's internal organs quiver with disturbing fright.

"So, you figured it out!" he thundered as he looked coldly back at Alu. "What a smart girl you are! You're absolutely right! I AM Ivan! Now, it's my turn to guess who you are! You're one of the next generation of Fairy Tail!"

Alu couldn't stop shaking. She didn't like where this was going.

"And seeing as you have two Celestial Spirits that used to belong to that blond Celestial Wizard," Ivan continued with wicked confidence, "you must be Lucy Heartfillia's daughter!" "And if that's true, then who's your father?!"

Alu was beginning to feel sick to her stomach. That was a rhetorical question if she ever heard one.

She could just see it in those empty eyes of his.

Ivan had figured it all out.

He knew who she was.

"I know why you're so protective of the Dragon Slayers!" Ivan smiled evilly, holding up his bitten hand, which was still dripping with blood. "It's because your father's one! Don't even try denying it! The pink hair, dark eyes, even your cloths and personality! The resemblance is extremely uncanny! You're the daughter of Natsu Dragneel, the Dragon Slayer of Fire!"

Alu couldn't speak. She could hardly breathe. She was shaking so badly that her brain had ceased to work on any thought process. It was like a horrible nightmare that she couldn't wake up from was crashing in on her. All the confidence she had before was sucked out of her in less than a second.

For the first time in her life that Alu could remember, she was terrified. But she didn't know who she was terrified for.

Why was she so terrified of Ivan?

Was it because he was a soul-stealer? Or was it because he had found out that she was Natsu's daughter? Alu didn't know. She was too scared to think straight. Her mind was just in a panic scramble.

The only thing that was clear to her was that her father was in danger, and it was all because of her. Because Ivan had figured out she was Natsu's daughter, she had just become a potential bargaining chip.

Seeing his target distracted and shaken, Ivan threw another black tentacle at her in hopes of capturing her again. By the time Alu realized what was going on, the tentacle was just four feet away from her and closing in fast.

She wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time.

Fortunately, Aries leapt into action.

"WOOL WALL!"

In an instant, the tentacle was stopped short by a massive wall of pink, fluffy wool. It ricocheted off of the dense cloud and whipped back to Ivan, striking him across the face. He let out a yell of pain and wielded back, covering his cheek and grimacing.

As soon as she had made her wall sturdy enough, Aries turned back to her terror-stricken friend.

"Alu, snap out of it!" Aries shrieked with worry, grabbing Alu by the shoulders and shaking her roughly.

Alu blinked and gulped in a huge breath of air as reality snapped back into her face.

"A-Aries!" she stuttered, her voice weak and fragile.

"C'mon, we've got to get out of here!" Aries said desperately. "You can't let him catch you!"

"But…I can't…!"

"Just get out of here!" a strict voice ordered.

Alu turned around to see Aquarius rising up off the ground.

"Aquarius…"

"I can handle this!" Aquarius replied harshly. "He said he doesn't have a version of me in his arsenal! So I think I can take him on!"

"But he's after my dad!" Alu cried. "I can't let him…!"

"STOP ARGUING AND GET OUT OF HERE!" Aquarius roared.

Alu stiffened and fell silent. Aquarius then turned to Aries.

"Aries, get Alu and Violet somewhere safe!" she ordered. "Don't look back! Just get out of here!"

Aries replied with a nod. She then took Alu's hand and made and urge for her to come with her.

"Aries..." Alu started to protest.

"Aquarius can handle this." Aries interrupted. "Let's just go. C'mon Violet."

Although she was still hesitant, Alu gave up resisting. She let Aries pull her away from the scene as Violet summoned her Area wings and flew alongside them. Aquarius watched as the trio disappeared into the shadows of the trees. When they were out of sight, she let out a slight relieved breath of air and began to focus her attention on the battle ahead.

Suddenly, Aries Wool Wall was cut to shreds but a bunch of shikigami whips. In just a matter of seconds, they completely decimated all of the pink whole. This left Aquarius and Ivan standing off against each other. Both of them stared at each other with contempt.

And for Ivan, he showed irritation when he saw that Alu had disappeared.

"Where did you send her?!" he bellowed at Aquarius.

"None of your business!" the Water Spirit shot back. "If I were you, I would focus on the fight!"

Aquarius then held her silver urn up and sent out another wave of water towards Ivan. He managed to block the oncoming attack with a wall of shikigami dolls. At the same time, he grabbed two keys off of his belt and held them up in the air.

"Open, Gates of the Dark Lion and Maiden! Leo and Virgo!"

The two blood-red keys shined for a moment. A second later, the Neo versions of Leo and Virgo appeared out of dark magenta Magic Circles. Aquarius backed away warily at the sight of them. Even she could tell that these Spirits were powerful. More than that, she could sense that there was something wrong about them. There was nothing in their eyes. No emotion at all.

They were like empty dolls.

"Leo!" Ivan commanded. "Take down Aquarius! Show her no mercy!"

"With pleasure, master." Neo Leo replied with a sly grin.

The next thing Aquarius knew; she was dodging an oncoming purple-fire punch from a golden-armored clad Leo. And no sooner had she avoided his attack did she have to block another punch that was aimed right at her face.

This gave Ivan his chance.

"Virgo!" he shouted. "Find and capture Natsu's daughter! Bring her to me alive!"

"As you wish, master." Neo Virgo grinned wickedly. "This should be fun."

With that, Neo Virgo dashed off into the forest.

"NO!" Aquarius yelled.

With a sheer force of determination, Aquarius used her tail to smack Neo Leo away from her. She then turned around and attempted to stop Neo Virgo. However, she was halted by a sudden wall of purple flames that shot up just inches away from her face. She stumbled back and whipped around to see Neo Leo conjuring up a storm of dark fire.

"I thought you said to focus on the fight." Neo Leo taunted. "You should take your own advice, not that you're going to make it out of this alive."

Aquarius scowled fiercely.

"You're the one who's not going to walk away from this alive!" she retorted.

"Then bring it on." Neo Leo smiled cruelly.

As Aquarius prepared herself for the fight, a single thought crossed her mind for a brief moment.

 _"Aries, whatever happens, you have to protect Alu. No matter what."_

The Celestial Spirit of Water then cleared her mind of any distraction and moved in to attack.


	17. Chapter 17: Flames of Fury

**Chapter 17**

 **Flames of Fury**

Aries guided a shaking Alu through the dark forest as quickly as she could. Violet flew beside them. She constantly looked back over her shoulder, worried that one of those Neo Spirits would ambush them at any moment. What made it worse was that because of the deep shadows from the trees, and the limited light from the moon and stars above, it was almost impossible to see anything in the forest. One of those Spirits could be nearby and they wouldn't see it until it was too late.

Their best chance was to keep running and hope they would find some kind of help.

For a while, Alu felt numb, like all her senses had been shot. She had only heard stories of Ivan from other Fairy Tail members. All she knew was that he had a deep loathing for Fairy Tail for some reason, and that he did just about anything he could to humiliate and destroy the guild during the Grand Magic Games during the year of X791. Since he hadn't made any notion to attack the guild since then, everyone just treated his stories as if he was nothing more than a bad memory.

But Ivan was beyond just being a bad memory now.

Alu came face-to-face with him just minutes ago. From what she could see, all the rumors she had heard about him were more than true. During that whole confrontation, she could just feel the malice coming off of him like it was a physical presence. She didn't know how strong he was during the year X791, but it was clear to her that he was definitely powerful. Maybe more than he was back then.

As she reflected that whole situation, Alu's brain slowly began work more effectively once again. When she and her friends reached a small clearing, it soon dawned on Alu that she and Aries were running away, and they had left Aquarius behind to fend for herself.

What was Alu doing?! She shouldn't be running away! She should be fighting back!

"Aries, we have to go back!" Alu suddenly shrieked. "We have to help Aquarius!"

"I'm sorry, Alu!" Aries whimpered. "But you can't let Ivan get his hands on you! Don't worry about Aquarius! She's one of the strongest Spirits in the Zodiac!"

"But even Aquarius can't take on twelve Dark Spirits by herself!" Alu protested. "And Ivan's after my dad! We have to stop him now!"

"I have to agree with Aries on this one!" Violet said. "You won't be any help to anyone if your mind isn't sharp and focused!"

"It's sharp and focused now!" Alu shot back. "I know I froze up back there, but Ivan just caught me off guard! But I know we can beat him! C'mon Aries, you and I have that combo attack we can use!"

"We can't let Ivan know you're a Dragon Slayer, too!" Aries cried. "If he finds out, he'll probably kill you!"

Alu jolted at that statement and came to a stop. "What do you mean?!"

Aries squeaked in fear and came to an abrupt halt. This made Alu and Violet stop as well.

"I-I didn't mean anything!" the Golden Ram Spirit stuttered, her voice in a jumble of haste. "I-It's just that, if h-he's after Dragon Slayers, then he, I mean, h-he could take your soul!"

Alu frowned with irritation. She didn't buy that explanation for a second. Aries was a horrible liar and Alu knew it. Alu could just see it in her eyes that she was hiding something. Especially since she just said moments ago that Ivan would probably kill Alu if he found out she was a Dragon Slayer.

"You know something, Aries!" Alu confronted. "Why is Ivan going after Celestial Wizards and Dragon Slayers?! And why would it matter if he knew I was both?! What's going on here?!"

Aries brought her arms up in front of her body, like she was trying to form a barrier between herself and Alu. She began to shiver and she avoid Alu's suspicious glare. Her voice quivered with uncertainty.

"Alu," she whimpered, "I'm really sorry, but…I'm afraid I can't tell you."

Alu groaned in annoyance.

"Oh, never mind then," she said forcefully. "Let's just go back and help Aquarius. I still hate her with all my guts, but even I don't want her dead."

"No, Alu!" Aries squeaked. "Aquarius can handle this herself! We have to…!"

Suddenly, a lightning whip came out of nowhere and struck Aries. The Golden Ram Spirit screamed in both fright and pain as she was flown backwards by the impact. She landed hard on the ground and slid across the grass for a few inches.

"ARIES!" Alu and Violet screamed.

Alu was about to run over to her Spirit friend when a pair of chains appeared around her ankles, tying them close together. She fell over, grunting as she made contact with the ground. Alu quickly looked back to see that evil version of Virgo towering over her. The evil Spirit had a pair of purple glowing cuffs in her hands that were identical to the ones around Alu's ankles. Beside her was Violet, who was struggling to get out of a large, heavy restraint that had locked itself around her torso.

The look on the Neo Virgo's face was one of sick pleasure. She was taking delight in seeing the helplessness of her victims.

Just seeing that made Alu scowl in anger.

"Why you bi-!"

Alu didn't get to finish her sentence because at that moment, another set of cuffs snapped around her wrists, and a large one flashed around her mouth. The chains on her ankles and wrists felt like they were nailed to the ground beneath her. They forced to lay prone on her stomach. She screamed and struggled to get out her bindings, but to no avail.

She was trapped.

"My, the look on your face is quite exquisite, little Dragneel." Neo Virgo said snidely. "So much hatred and pain, it's beautiful really. I can only imagine how much more amazing it would look when I inflict more pain."

Alu wanted so much to burn this Dark Spirit into a pile of ashes.

"But my orders were to bring you to my master alive." Neo Virgo sneered. "But I have no need for this little feline."

With a flick of her hand, Neo Virgo tossed the tied up Violet aside. Violet screamed as she flew through the air and landed in a bush. Alu cried out the Exceed's name, but her voice was muffled by the metal gag around her mouth. She struggled and fought even more to get out of her bindings, but they held onto her tight.

Neo Virgo just laughed at the sight, which infuriated Alu even more. She absolutely hated people who took pleasure in other's pain and suffering. Those kinds of people made her sick to her stomach. Whenever she saw them, she just wanted to knock them down so hard they wouldn't get back up.

Neo Virgo turned back to Alu and made a gesture with her index finger. Alu was suddenly lifted off the ground by the chains on her wrists. It was like she was being held up by an invisible rope that was tied to her cuffs. She was suspended in midair, defenseless and weighed down by her restraints.

Regardless of all that, the scowl in Alu's eyes never left for a second. She refused to show any fear to this freak of a Spirit.

"My mastered ordered me to bring you back alive," Neo Virgo grinned maliciously. "But he never said I couldn't have a little fun with you first. And I definitely intend to."

Alu still kept her brave face, but cold sweat began to form on her face.

Neo Virgo walked up and grabbed Alu's sleeveless shirt in a seductive fashion and gave it a slight pull. It made Alu's skin crawl and her muscles tense. She saw a look in Neo Virgo's eyes, and her heart rate began to increase. She did not like that look at all.

"Let's see what you look like underneath all these cloths," the Dark Spirit sneered wickedly. "With Lucy Heartfilla's genes inside you, I bet you have a ridiculous figure, too. I can't wait to see it, once your dignity's strip away."

 _"DON'T YOU DARE!"_ Alu wanted to scream. But the metal gag on her prevented her from getting those words out.

However, before Neo Virgo could so much as make a single tear in Alu's shirt, she was suddenly hit with a pink ball of wool. This knocked the Dark Maiden away from Alu just a bit before getting her stuck in its grip.

Alu turned her head sharply to her right. She saw that Aries was back on her feet. She was in a fighting stance, but the look on her face was one of great distress and fear. Alu knew why.

Aries was a Zodiac Spirit, but she wasn't a combat-oriented Spirit. She did know hand-to-hand combat, but she was more suited for defense and support rather than offense. It was clear that Neo Virgo was the exact opposite. She wasn't an opponent that Aries could take on by herself.

However, Aries knew she had to protect her key holder no matter what, even if that meant risking her life.

Neo Virgo only hesitated for a moment before summoning her lightning whip. She cut though Aries wool like a knife cutting through butter. She then landed on her feet and turned to face the true Zodiac Spirit.

"Well, it seems like someone is just asking for a punishment." Neo Virgo grinned viciously. "You really think you can take me on? You're just a sheepish little Spirit who can't stand up for herself. No wonder so many Celestial Wizards took advantage of you. My master's new and improved Aries is easily stronger than you."

Alu wriggled and twisted with rage-induced adrenaline, her chains rattling and clanking loudly. Nobody had the right to talk to Aries like that. Especially this Virgo copycat.

But Aries didn't back down. It was clear that she was frightened to go up against this artificial Spirit, but her loyalty to Alu was stronger than her fear.

"You might be stronger than me," Aries said, "and I know I'm not the most powerful of the Zodiacs, but I'd rather die than abandon my key holder. I'm doing this for her sake. She's not just my key holder, she's my closest friend. I'll stand and fight for her, and her family."

 _"No, Aries!"_ Alu wanted to shout. _"Save yourself! I'm the one they want! Just take Violet and run!"_

But all that came out from behind that metal cuff around Alu's mouth was stifled shrieks.

Neo Virgo snickered maliciously before licking her lips with twisted delight.

"If that's how you're going to be about it, then fine," she said. "More pain for you means more fun for me. And I wonder how it'll feel to destroy a Zodiac Spirit."

Neo Virgo then leapt forward. Aries had only a second to dodge before that lightning whip can down. It left and large gash in the ground the moment it came into contact with it. But that whip wasn't the only form of combat Neo Virgo had. Just as Aries landed on stable ground, she was forced to run and dodge because Neo Virgo began to create holes all around her. Neo Virgo wasn't giving Aries any time to counterattack. She was overwhelming the poor Ram Spirit with whip attacks and craters in the ground.

Aries tried to summon an attack of her own, but she couldn't get enough time to use any of her Wool Magic effectively. She was having a hard-enough time trying to not get struck by Neo Virgo's whip. And with all of these craters appearing around her, she really had to stay on her toes.

But Neo Virgo was a big cheat. She anticipated one of Aries landings and created a hole right under her left foot. This caused Aries to falter as she tried to regain her balance. But by the time she did, it was too late. Neo Virgo struck Aries across her center with the lightning whip.

"ARIES!" Violet cried.

Aries flew backwards and slammed straight into the trunk of a large tree. Before she had time to get up, cuffs and chains suddenly flashed around her neck and wrists, pinning her defenselessly to the tree.

Neo Virgo then began to strike Aries blow after blow with fast and furious whip-lashes. She laughed and jeered every time Aries let out a cry of agony.

"That's right, cry for help!" Neo Virgo shouted ecstatically. "Louder! I said louder! Keep crying! You're pathetic!"

Alu, who had been watching the whole fight, felt immeasurable rage grow deep inside of her. It grew and grew every time she heard Aries cry and scream. She felt as if her heart had been set on fire. Her anger grew to the point where she felt like she was going to explode.

Alu couldn't stand seeing Aries being tortured like this.

Aries was her first Spirit. She could still remember how happy she felt the when Lucy entrusted the Celestial Spirit's key to her. Ever since then, Aries had been a true and faithful friend. She was always by Alu's side whenever she was sad or lonely. They fought battles together, trained together, laughed together, and encouraged each other. They were friends.

And now, Alu was being forced to watch as this fake Virgo hurt her friend.

This was unforgivable! It was more unforgivable than what Neo Virgo threatened to do to Alu!

Alu wasn't going to watch this anymore. She didn't care if Neo Virgo saw her use her Dragon Slayer Magic, she had to use it. She couldn't reach her keys to summon any of her other Spirits. She had to use her Dragon Slayer Magic. It was her only chance.

She had to use the gift that her father had given her to save her friends.

With battle cry of fury, Alu's whole body suddenly erupted in an aura of white-hot flames. The intense heat caused the metal cuffs and chains to shatter and scatter across the grass, where they melted into puddles of liquid metal.

Neo Virgo stopped torturing Aries to look around to see what was happening. To her open-mouth shock, Alu was down on the ground on all fours like a wild animal, and was surrounded in a blaze of whitish-orange fire. The expression on the young wizard's face was one of untainted rage.

No, Alu was beyond the point of rage. Her eyes showed that clearly. For a moment, she almost looked like a Demon. Her pupils and irises both when very small, leaving a majority of her eyes white. She bared all of her teeth and curled her fingers as if they were claws.

"FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN!"

Before Neo Virgo could raise her whip in defense, Alu shot forward with incredible speed.

Alu head-butted Neo Virgo, knocking her away from Aries. This caused Neo Virgo drop her whip and stumble back in disorientation.

"YOU THINK OTHER'S SUFFERING IS SOMETHING TO LAUGH AT?!" Alu roared. "WELL, LET'S SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT, YOU VIRGO PHONY!"

"No!" Neo Virgo screeched.

But Alu wasn't listening. She didn't even stop for a second. She was going to make this sick and twisted sadist pay for what she did to Aries. And she was going to give it back a thousand fold.

Alu was going to have revenge. She used every single Dragon Slayer technique her father had taught her, and overwhelmed Neo Virgo with a flurry of fiery punches and kicks.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST! TALON! WING ATTACK! FLAME ELBOW! CRUSHING FANG!"

Again and again, Alu showered unavoidable attacks on Neo Virgo. That Dark Spirit was now at the mercy of the young Fairy Tail wizard. And Alu wasn't letting up. She knew this wasn't the real Virgo she was fighting. It was just an empty shell.

Which meant Alu wasn't going to hold back.

Gathering up the last of her Dragon Slayer Magic, Alu summoned one of her father's greatest techniques. She had never used it before, but she had seen Natsu use it many times in the past.

She had to use it now.

"FLAME LOTUS: EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!"

Alu swiped her arms around in a circular fashion. A destructive force of flames spiraled around together and hit Neo Virgo with fierce power. The Neo Spirit flew backwards before hitting the ground and skidding through the grass and dirt. By the time she came to a stop, Alu's flames dispersed and faded away from her hands.

Neo Virgo laid flat on her back in the grass, completely stunned and unable to move. She wasn't getting up any time soon. Now that she was defeated, the chains and cuffs binding both Aries and Violet disappeared in an instant. While Aries sat up against the tree, trembling and desperately breathing hard for air, Violet lifted herself up and summoned her Aera wings. She then flew over to Alu and hovered beside her.

As she did, Alu dropped onto one knee and gasped.

"Alu, that was incredible!" Violet praised. "Are you alright?!"

"Oh, yeah." Alu wheezed. "I'm fine. Just a little low on Magic."

Alu panted heavily as beads of sweat rolled down her face. She was now feeling just how much of her Magic Power was depleted. She had used up all of her Dragon Slayer Magic in that last attack. Even though she knew that using all that Magic would drain her, she also knew that she had to stop Neo Virgo and protect Aries. It didn't matter if her Dragon Slayer Magic was exhausted. As long as her friends were safe, then that was okay with her.

Luckily, her Celestial Magic was still in reserve and was stopping her from keeling over completely. It was times like this where she was actually grateful to have separate vessels of Magic Power. For it was her Celestial Magic alone that was keeping her alive and conscious.

Once she had gotten enough air back in her lungs, Alu stood up and walked over to the fallen Neo Virgo. She stopped just a few feet away from her and glowered down at her.

"Don't EVER torture any of my Spirits again!" Alu angrily warned. "Because I'll give it back to you a thousand times over! You and the other phony Zodiac Spirits!"

Then, much to Alu, Aries, and Violet's surprise, Neo Virgo began to disappear. She didn't vanish instantly like her Gate was being closed. She was dissolving into purplish-black dots. Her face was blank and emotionless, like she didn't feel any pain at all.

"Quite impressive, I'll give you that." Neo Virgo said flatly. "But now our master's going to kill you, little Dragneel. He won't tolerate having competition."

"Competition?" Alu said with perplexity. "What are you talking about?"

"Are you that stupid? Master wants to be a Celestial Dragon Slayer."

At the sound of that, Aries jolted. Alu's eyes widened and she inhaled sharply.

"Celestial Dragon Slayer?!" Alu whispered in shock. "You're saying there's a Celestial Dragon Slayer?!"

"You're so dense." Neo Virgo said, staring up at the sky. "The only way there can be a Celestial Dragon Slayer is by completing a Spell."

Aries frowned and narrowed her eyes ambiguously.

"What kind of Spell?" Alu asked.

Neo Virgo just grinned wickedly, "Once our master has your father's soul, then you'll see."

Alu flinched at that remark and scowled viciously.

"He'll never get my dad's soul!" she retorted. "My dad's super strong! He'll easily kick Ivan's ass into the next century!"

Neo Virgo just chuckled spitefully, "You don't know how strong our master is. But if you don't believe me, by all means, face him yourself if you have the nerve. Once our master's completed the Spell, you and your guild won't stand a chance. Fairy Tail will fall. You can be sure of that."

Before Alu could say anything, Neo Virgo faded completely. All that was left in her place was a small, damaged and torn shikigami. Alu slowly walked over and picked up the little piece of paper. As she examined it, she remembered what Ivan had said before about combining his power with Yukino's to create the Neo Zodiac Spirits.

"I get it," she mumbled. "They're shikigami creations. They don't even have a soul. They're just imitations."

Alu then just stood where she was. She closed her eyes as she thought back over what Neo Virgo had told her. She had to try and fit all the pieces of information she had together.

Ivan was now after Natsu because he wanted his soul. And he wanted his soul so he could become a Celestial Dragon Slayer. That made sense as to why he went after Yukino. After all, it was only logical to assume that the Celestial Dragon Slayer would be connected to Celestial Magic, too.

But what was this Spell that Neo Virgo mentioned? Alu had always been told that Magic was generally taught, particularly strong Magic. All wizards were born with the ability to use Magic, but they had to learn a style of their own. That's what both of her parents did. Lucy was taught Celestial Wizard Magic by her mother, Layla Heartfillia; and Natsu was taught Dragon Slayer Magic by his foster father, Igneel the Fire Dragon King.

Then again, Alu was an example of a special case. She was born with specific kinds of Magic.

So, was it possible that Ivan could attain this Celestial Dragon Slayer power through a Spell?

Whatever the case was, Alu knew one thing was clear: Ivan wanted her father's soul just to make himself more powerful. And he wanted that power so he could destroy Fairy Tail. Just thinking of that made Alu grit her teeth and clench her fists, crinkling the little shikigami in her right hand as she did.

"Ivan's not going to get away with this," she said with conviction. "I'm going to stop him myself."

"Alu?" Violet said.

Alu turned around to look at her companions. The determination in her eyes was unmistakable.

"We have to go back and help Aquarius," she stated. "I don't care what it takes, we have to stop Ivan."

"But Alu," Aries said hesitantly, "you're out of Dragon Slayer Magic."

"I still got my Celestial Magic." Alu replied. "I'll be fine. Let's just go help Aquarius. That is if you're feeling up to it, Aries."

Aries paused for a second or two before giving a confident nod. She slowly got to her feet and stood up as tall as she could.

"If this is what you want, then I'll follow you," she said. "As my key holder, I am bound to protect you. But as my friend, I will follow you into battle."

"You can count me in, too." Violet said, raising her right paw. "I'll do what I can to help."

Alu grinned at her two companions, "Then let's go."

With that, the small team ran back in the direction they came from. They couldn't afford to waste any more time. All they could do was run as fast as they could and hope that they would reach Aquarius in time.

However, what none of them realized was that they weren't alone.

No sooner had Alu, Aries, and Violet rushed back into the forest, that a small group of four figures dressed in dark blue cloaks moved swiftly and silently through the forest. This group took great care in making sure that they were far enough away so that the Dragon Slayer girl couldn't sense their presence, but also being close enough to keep a close eye on their targets.


	18. Chapter 18: Cavalry

**Chapter 18**

 **Cavalry**

 _With Team Natsu…_

Natsu, unable to sleep no matter what he did to get comfortable, finally got up from his spot beside his wife, grabbed his scarf out of habit, and walked a short distance away from the camp until he came to the edge of the woods. He stopped and leaned up against the trunk of a large oak tree. There, he lifted his face to the night sky and stared into the infinite space of stars. The moon's silvery glow bathed him in a radiant nightlight, almost like it wanted to wash away his doubts and concerns.

Unfortunately, it wasn't working. Nothing like that would work on the Dragon Slayer now.

Natsu couldn't stop thinking about Alu. Ever since Sting had warned him and the other Fairy Tail wizards about that soul-stealer, his anxiety of finding his daughter in time had risen to a very high level. So high that it was all but suffocating him.

Ever since Natsu had become a father, he had developed a kind of sixth sense that subconsciously alerted him whenever Alu was in danger. And right now, he was feeling this sense more than ever before. It was like a dark ghost was whispering in his mind that if he didn't find Alu in time, he would never see her alive again.

Natsu wanted to go on ahead and find Alu, but Erza ordered everyone to rest for the night. Naturally, Natsu protested against it, but Erza forced him to change his mind the moment she punched him in the stomach. Even now, he was still feeling the pain of her fist in his gut.

Still, he couldn't get his mind of Alu. No amount of pain would be enough to do that.

Natsu clutched the scarf in his hands and looked down at it.

"Igneel," he whispered solemnly to himself, "I wish you were here. I need to know what to do. What would you do in this situation?"

"Natsu?"

Natsu turned his head around to see who had spoken to his name. Lucy stood behind him with an exhausted look in her chocolate brown eyes.

"Oh, Lucy." Natsu said. "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No, I couldn't sleep." Lucy lowered her head sadly. "Looks like you couldn't either. You're worried about Alu, too, aren't you?"

Natsu glanced down before turning away. That was enough to tell Lucy that he was more than worried about their daughter. He was trying to be strong about it, but even she could tell that his spirit was starting to waver.

He couldn't bear this alone. Nor should he have to.

Natsu was there to comfort Lucy last night, now it was her turn to do the same for him.

Lucy moved forward and hugged her husband from behind. She wrapped her arms securely around his torso and rested her head against the nape of his neck. Natsu felt her gesture and looked back at the blonde-haired woman. Her warmth reached through his skin and seemed to calm his soul almost instantly.

"Don't worry." Lucy whispered. "Alu will be fine. She takes after you, remember? She has your fighting spirit."

Natsu tightened his mouth a little.

"We'll find Alu." Lucy continued. "We'll find her and we'll bring her home."

Natsu paused for a moment, listening to those same words that he had spoken to Lucy not too long ago. Only now, they seemed to be more comforting since they came from her voice. Natsu lowered his head, covering his eyes in the shadows of his bangs. He then gave a small smile of assurance and lifted his right hand to clasp Lucy's arm.

"Yeah," he whispered. "We'll find her."

* * *

 _Back in the forest; just a few miles ahead…_

Aquarius staggered back and panted heavily. This evil version of Leo was a lot stronger than she had anticipated. Although she had managed to land a few blows on him, the most she did was just shatter the weaker parts of his armor. It wasn't enough to cause him any serious injuries.

However, Neo Leo really did some real damage to her. She was covered with scratches and bruises. Her injuries would've been a lot worse if she didn't devote most of her energy to defending herself.

Aquarius was doing her best to keep a fearless expression, she couldn't deny the fact that this Dark Spirit was making her wary. Something about him was wrong. She could feel it.

 _"Impossible!"_ Aquarius thought fearfully. _"How can he be so strong?! What kind of power is this?!"_

"Well," Neo Leo sneered mockingly, "I expected more from the great and mighty Aquarius of the Zodiac. But what should you expect from a weak woman, even if you are a Spirit. I bet those injuries hurt a lot. But that's what you get when you dress so scantily."

"Damn you!" Aquarius snarled in a poisonous tone.

"Oh, and there's one more thing you should know." Neo Leo continued. "Our master has graciously granted us the power to end a Spirit's life. Just one fatal blow, and you'll be erased from existence."

Aquarius scowled deeper and sweat began to roll down her face. That wasn't a bluff and she knew it. As if these Neo Spirits weren't dangerous enough. She was going up a deadly force.

"Do it now, Neo Leo." Ivan commanded with malicious victory. "End this Spirit's existence."

"Gladly." Neo Leo grinned savagely.

Neo Leo raised his right hand towards Aquarius and summoned the Dark Regulus. He curved his fingers like they were claws as Dark Regulus began to grow larger around his hand. Aquarius braced herself for another attack. She swallowed hard, realizing that she unless she could end the fight quickly, she wasn't going to last much longer.

But just as Neo Leo was about to unleash his attack, a girl's voice suddenly shouted,

"OPEN! GATE OF THE SEA GOAT! CAPRICORN!"

The next thing that Aquarius, Neo Leo, and Ivan knew, there was a flash of blue light and something large charged out of the trees.

Capricorn the Sea Goat rushed forward at Neo Leo and kicked him away. Neo Leo turned his attention to Capricorn and the two began to fight hand-to-hand. While Neo Leo's punch attacks had the Dark Regulus for extra power, Capricorn was quick to dodge the Dark Spirit's attack. On top of that, he was able to land a few good blows on Neo Leo. The whole time, Capricorn just maintained a calm and stoic composure.

Aquarius stared in confusion. Just where did Capricorn come from?

"Aquarius!"

Aquarius looked over to see who called out her name and saw Alu, Aries, and Violet emerge from the shadows of the woods. The trio rushed over to the Water Spirit and immediately got down to her level when they reached her.

"You okay, Aquarius?" Alu asked.

"What the hell are you doing back here?!" Aquarius snapped at the pink-haired girl. "I told you run!"

"Yeah, well I never listen." Alu said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Besides, there's no way I could look my mom in the eye again if I knew you died because of me."

Aquarius narrowed her eyes at Alu. The young wizard ignored those eyes and stood up. She then turned away with a glare.

"Aries, Violet," she said, "make sure Aquarius is okay. I can handle this."

"Don't push yourself too hard, Alu." Aries fearfully warned. "You used a lot of Magic taking down Neo Virgo."

"Don't worry about me, I've still got my Celestial Magic. But there's something I need to know."

"Alu, be careful." Violet whimpered.

Alu paused for only a moment before suddenly dashing towards the fight between Capricorn and Neo Leo. Hearing his key holder approaching, Capricorn leapt aside just as Alu reached them. Before Neo Leo knew what was happening, Alu had leapt up and roundhouse kicked him in the face. She followed it up with another kick to his chest. This caused the armored Spirit to stumble back a bit. He looked back up with a vicious scowl at Alu as she landed back onto her feet and took a defensive stance.

"Nicely done as always, Lady Alu." Capricorn commented.

"Thanks, Capricorn." Alu replied. "But it's not over yet."

"Pest!" Neo Leo growled, glaring at Alu. "You're just a pathetic girl!"

"Never underestimate us females!" Alu snarled. "We're strong in our own ways and don't you forget it! 'Cuz if you do, I'll hit you where it hurts!"

"You little whelp! How dare you talk to me like that!"

Alu looked past the Dark Lion Spirit and at Ivan. She narrowed her eyes even more when she saw that he was watching all of this with a sinisterly amused expression. Alu had seen enough villains in her life to know that that kind of expression meant that he saw this whole fight as nothing but a game to him. A feeling of disgust towards that man rose up inside her and made her bare her teeth.

"Ivan, I've got some questions for you!" she said forcefully.

"Don't you dare speak to my master, girl!" Neo Leo raged.

Ivan stepped forward.

"It's alright, Leo," he said coolly. "You may stand down now."

Ivan then took out one of those blood-red keys. With a swipe of his arm, he closed Neo Leo's gate, making the Dark Lion Spirit disappear instantly.

"Capricorn," Alu said, "I need you to go back."

"Are you sure, Lady Alu?" Capricorn asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll be fine. I've got this under control."

"Very well then, my lady." Capricorn bowed respectfully.

With that, the Sea Goat Spirit vanished in a small flash of light.

Alu let out a deep exhale and forced herself to stand up tall. She rarely summoned Capricorn. The reason was because he was one of the Spirits that took up a large amount of her Celestial Magic just to summon, let alone keep his gate open. She could already feel a big chunk of her Celestial Magic depleted already. She would probably be able to summon one more Spirit after that.

But she couldn't let Ivan see she was weakened. Her best chance was to get Ivan talking, and keep him talking until she got enough Magic Power back. She knew it would take some time getting her Dragon Slayer Magic back, but this was her only strategy right now.

Plus, she did have some questions to ask.

"So," Ivan sneered at Alu, "you decided to come back. You here to surrender like a good little girl?"

"Pfft, not in a million years." Alu replied contemptuously. "But there's no way I'm running away either. That's not the kind of person I am."

"Well, aren't you brave." Ivan grinned. "Or you're just plain stupid. Must've gotten that from your father."

Alu narrowed her eyes and gave a sly grin.

"Yeah, I did," she said proudly. "After all, like you pointed out before, we do have an uncanny resemblance. And being stupidly brave is what we Dragneels are known for."

Ivan just dismissed that statement.

"Though I must ask," he said, "how did you get past my Virgo?"

Alu's expression changed to a dead-pan frown, and she held up the chard skikigami doll. That was enough to make Ivan give a subtle expression of surprise for a moment.

"I didn't get past her, I defeated her." Alu said, crumbling the paper doll with one hand. "So you stole Yukino's soul and combined her Celestial Magic with your Skikigami Magic to create a set of phony Spirits. Am I right?"

"Correct." Ivan said, smirking evilly. "You certainly are clever; I'll give you that much. I bet you got that from your mother. Because I know your father wasn't all that smart."

Alu scowled harder a gave a deep growl. That was a mocking statement and she knew it.

"My dad's a lot smarter than you think," she rebuked. "How do you think he's managed to win all his battles? But that's not important now. I got something to ask you: are you doing all this just so you can become some kind of Celestial Dragon Slayer?"

When Aquarius heard Alu's question, she jolted in shock. However, since Ivan's attention was on Alu, and Alu had her back to the Water Spirit, neither one of them saw her reaction. The only ones who managed to notice were Aries and Violet. They both turned to Aquarius and saw that she had a rare expression of concern on her face.

"I don't see why I should have to tell you that." Ivan glared at Alu. "But if you want to know, the answer is yes."

Alu glared back.

"Why?" she asked. "Why go through all this trouble?"

"I thought it was obvious." Ivan replied wickedly. "To take down Fairy Tail once and for all."

"Oh, really." Alu said sarcastically, putting her hands on her hips. "Didn't you try that years ago at the Grand Magic Games? I was told that Fairy Tail kicked your butt so hard that you didn't show your face for eighteen years."

Ivan's scowl deepened at that remark and he clenched his jaw. Alu couldn't help but smirk when she saw that she had struck a nerve.

"You're calling me a coward?!" Ivan shouted. "I lived in the shadows all of these years so I could prepare a more effective plan to take down your guild! And since I couldn't get my hands on the Lumen Historie, I had to find another power source!"

"And you decided to learn how to steal souls just so you could become more powerful?" Alu glared. "Talk about lazy. Sure sounds like the coward's way to me."

"Why you little…!" Ivan growled.

"How did you learn Curse Power, anyway?" Alu interrupted. "My mom and dad told me that only Demons could use that Power. And while you act like one, even I can tell you're not a Demon."

Ivan paused for a moment. His face had changed from angry to very pensive. Alu could only guess what was going on inside his head. Still, it made her apprehensive. It was clear that he was planning something. After all, she just asked him a simple question. It shouldn't take him this much time just to think of an answer.

Then, a devious smile began to grow across Ivan's face. Alu immediately noticed it a braced herself for whatever was going to come out of his mouth.

"I have your father to thank for that." Ivan said manipulatively.

"What?!" Alu jolted, her eyes flashing with surprise.

"Didn't your parents ever disclose anything to you about Tartaros?" Ivan asked maliciously. "It was the Dark Guild that nearly wiped out Magnolia. And it was all for the sole purpose of awakening their true master, E.N.D. Or should I say, Etherious Natsu Dragneel. Your father. It was your father who invented Curses. All I did was incorporate one of them to help achieve my plans. So, in a way, he was one who made it possible for me to take Yukino's soul."

By this time, Alu had lowered her head, covering her eyes hidden by her bangs and shadows. She clenched her fists so hard that they began to shake by the force of her grip.

Ivan smiled with malicious victory. Surely, Alu's reaction meant he had gotten to her and was close to breaking her spirit. He decided to take this opportunity to mock the teenaged girl.

"What's the matter; cat got your tongue? Oh, so sorry. Did your parents keep the truth from you? Must be really hard to find out about it this way. To think that they would lie to their own daughter…"

Alu's body suddenly lit up with an aura of whitish-orange flames. Ivan jolted in shock and stepped back. The shikigami doll in Alu's hand burned away in an instant. Aries, Aquarius, and Violet all watched with worried and concerned expressions as Alu lifted her head. The young wizard scowled savagely at Ivan, her eyes full of untainted anger.

In that moment, Alu looked almost demonic herself. Not only had she inherited her Natsu's physical features, she also inherited some of his facial expressions. And one of them was definitely Natsu's scowl.

"You shut up!" Alu shouted at Ivan with fury. "My parents told me about E.N.D. a long time ago! They may annoy me to pieces, but they've never lied to me! And the fact that you use a power that is part of my dad's dark past just to complete some stupid Spell is unforgivable!"

"That fire!" Ivan gasped. "You're a Dragon Slayer, too?!"

"I don't care what your goal is, pal!" Alu raged on. "You're an enemy of Fairy Tail, and that gives me more than enough reason to fight you! And because you're after my dad, that makes you MY enemy, too! I won't let you have his soul! I'll stop you with the power he gave me!"

Alu charged forward with incredible speed.

"ALU, NO!" Aries cried in distress.

But Alu didn't listen. She was solely focused on the man in front of her. She was determined to take him down.

"FIRE DRAGON WING ATT-AUGH!"

Alu was suddenly hit with a powerful blow to the stomach. She howled in agony as she flew backwards and landed hard on the ground. The impact was so great that she bounced off of the earth and twirled in the air for a moment before landing again. She laid where she was for a moment, gasping and grimacing in pain.

"Alu!" Violet yelled as she prepared to fly over to her friend.

"No guys, stay back!" Alu commanded through gritted teeth.

Alu turned her head around to see what had struck her. To her wide-eye surprise, she saw that a Neo version of Taurus stood protectively in front of Ivan. This version of Taurus was vastly different than the one Alu knew. He was dressed in a fancy tuxedo with a metal mask over his face, and he had a book in his hand right hand.

"You shall not harm our master." Neo Taurus said with dignity.

"He's got one of Taurus?!" Alu strained.

Alu clutched the spot on her stomach where Neo Taurus had kicked her. It had sent such huge shockwave through her body that all of her limbs had gone numb. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't seem to get to her feet. She could barely lift herself up.

"Ugh, not cool," she grimaced. "This isn't good."

"Nicely done, Neo Taurus." Ivan sneered. "Now take this girl down. But keep her alive. She still has some use."

"As you wish, sir." Neo Taurus replied.

Alu tensed as the dark version of Taurus leapt high into the sky. When he reached the height of his jump, he lowered his fist to her direction and shot down. Alu braced herself to the blow that would surely knock her out.

"ALU!" Aries cried as she got up from her spot and ran over to her friend.

But Aries knew she wasn't going to make it in time. Neo Taurus was closing in too fast.

However, just before Neo Taurus landed that devastating blow to Alu's head, something slithered out of the shadows and snatched the girl up in its grip. Alu yelped she was quickly yanked away from her spot by a shadow. Neo Taurus missed Alu by just a few inches, and his punch left a deep hole in the earth.

Aries stopped dead in her tracks and stared in wonder when she saw what was happening. Aquarius and Violet both gasped when they saw the shadow beneath Alu begin to change form.

Alu felt a set of hands grab her securely around her shoulders and under her knees. She was then lifted up off the ground as the shadow began to take on a three-dimensional shape. She blinked in confusion for a moment when she felt warmth up against the left side of her body. She snapped her head around to see what was there.

To her surprise and utter relief, it was a man that she knew. An ally of Fairy Tail.

"That was a close one," the man said as he looked down at Alu. "Are you okay?"

"It's Rogue!" Alu exclaimed gleefully.

"ALU, LOOK OUT!" Violet suddenly screeched.

Both Alu and Rogue looked over just in time to see Neo Taurus charging straight towards them. Rogue tensed himself and prepared to leap out of the way.

However, before he could make another move, there was lilac light suddenly began to grow above everyone. Everyone in the area stopped and looked up to see what was going on.

To their surprise, a bunch of glowing orbs were gather up together just meters above them.

"Wait, that's…!" Ivan began to say with shock.

However, before the dark wizard could finish that statement, a voice that belonged to a teenaged boy suddenly shouted,

"FLASH FORWARD!"

All the glowing orbs suddenly shot straight down towards their target, which was Neo Taurus. They moved so fast that the artificial Spirit had no time to dodge out of the way. The impact all of those orbs gave with that blow was to such an insane level that it forced Neo Taurus to the ground. When the attack had stop, and all the orbs merged back into one, Neo Taurus laid flat on the ground, groaning in discomfort.

Alu, Rogue, Aries, Aquarius, and Violet watched the orb as it floated away from the Dark Spirit. It traveled and precise path through the air and towards a group of four people that were emerging from the forest. All of them were dressed long, dark blue cloaks with the hoods down, revealing each member's face and identity.

One was a tall man with blue hair, dark brown eyes, and a crimson tattoo over his right eye. Two of the members were both women. One had long, snowy white hair and sharp, light brown eyes. The other, who looked obviously younger than the first, had petunia pink hair and olive-green eyes.

The fourth member, who was the youngest in the group, and was in the front, was the one the Magic orb went to.

He was a teenaged boy who was just slightly older than Alu. He had short scarlet red hair, dark brown eyes, and a red tattoo above his right eye.

Alu's eyes widened when she recognized who those people were.

It was Crime Sorcière, the infamous independent guild. And allies of Fairy Tail.

And the members that were present were none other than Meldy, Sorano Agria, Jellal Fernandes, and his son, Eagle Fernandes.

Aquarius stared at the newcomers for a second before giving a small grin.

"Well," she said to herself, "looks like the cavalry's arrived."


	19. Chapter 19: Power Rising

**Chapter 19**

 **Power Rising**

Rogue carefully set Alu back down on her feet as the members of Crime Sorciére ran up to join them. Alu staggered for a moment, wrapping her arm around her middle as a shot of pain rushed through it.

"Hey, take it easy." Rogue said as he helped support the girl. "You okay?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Alu winced, bracing herself against Rogue's shoulder. "Just getting my second wind. But man, am I glad to see you."

"Alu!" Aries cried as she ran up to her key holder.

"I'm okay, Aries." Alu replied as the Celestial Spirit reached her.

Upon seeing Aries, Sorano stopped a few feet away and looked away in a kind of awkward and guilty gesture while the rest of her companions approached Alu and Rogue.

From where he was, Ivan looked at the newcomers with clear befuddlement. While seeing Crime Sorciére was unexpected, he wasn't exactly surprised to see them helping out a Fairy Tail wizard. What really confused him was to see a Sabertooth wizard to come to the rescue of a Fairy Tail wizard.

The last time he saw those two guilds, they were practically sworn enemies. But these two wizards in front of him treated each other like they were from the same guild.

This was certainly an interesting turn of events. Ivan grinned maliciously.

"Rogue of Sabertooth," Ivan sneered. "I had a feeling you would show up eventually. I just didn't expect it to so soon."

Both Rogue and Alu looked up at Ivan as he spoke, as did Jellal and his group. Both Jellal and Rogue stared at the former master of Raven Tail with ominous suspicion. Alu, on the other hand, glared back at the deranged man with vengeance in her eyes.

"Ivan." Rogue said sternly. "I thought it was you. It's been a long time, but I never forget a scent."

"Tell me, why did you save that girl?" Ivan asked. "You do know she's a Fairy Tail wizard, right?"

"Of course I do, that's exactly why I helped her." Rogue replied with unwavering loyalty. "Fairy Tail has been Sabertooth's ally for years now."

"Don't bother explaining it to him, Rogue." Jellal said glaringly. "I doubt this man knows anything about the alliances between the guilds now."

"Ah, Jellal of Crime Sorciére." Ivan sneered, raising an eyebrow. "I've heard about you and your guild. So, the rumors were true. I guess I should've known you and your gang of outlaws would come out of the shadows eventually."

"Cut the idle chat." Eagle demanded, stepping up to stand beside his father.

That made Ivan turn his attention to the scarlet-haired boy. The moment he made eye-contact with Eagle, he gave a look of mild disgust.

"Don't tell me, you must be Jellal and Erza's son," he said, almost like he was mocking Eagle. "Your hair really gives it away, doesn't it? Much like the little Fairy Tail pipsqueak there."

"Who are you callin' a pipsqueak?!" Alu snapped.

"I said to cut the idle chat." Eagle said to Ivan, unfazed by the man's jeering. "Tell us why you're here and why you were attacking Alu."

At that moment, Alu flinched in shock. She suddenly remembered that Ivan was now after the souls of Dragon Slayers. She looked back up at Rogue with worry. What if Ivan wanted to steal his soul? She couldn't let that happen.

"Rogue, be careful!" she warned. "He's a soul-stealer now! He's after a Dragon Slayer soul!"

Rogue looked down at Alu, his visible eye wide with shock. Not just Rogue either. All of Crime Sorciére turned to look at Alu with the same amount of shock in their eyes.

"Alu, what did you say?!" Meldy exclaimed with sudden worry.

"Oh, don't worry, little girl." Ivan said mockingly. "Although this Dragon Slayer would be an easy-picking, I can't use a tainted Dragon Slayer soul for the Spell."

"Tainted?" Alu questioned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Alu then blinked in realization. Ivan must've been talking about the Dragon Slayer Lacrima implanted in Rogue. That would explain why he said he was after only three Dragon Slayers of Fairy Tail. He was omitting Laxus, even though he was a Dragon Slayer, too. But he was the only Dragon Slayer in the guild who got his powers from a Dragon Slayer Lacrima inside him.

"So you're after First Generation Dragon Slayers." Rogue said, narrowing his eyes. "Why?"

"He wants to become a Celestial Dragon Slayer." Alu answered. "And just look, he's already got the soul of a Celestial Wizard. That's how he was able to create his own Zodiac Spirits."

Alu jabbed a finger at Neo Taurus, who was getting to up, groaning in pain from Eagle's Flash Forward attack. The Dark Spirit noticed her action and gave an offended gasp.

"Don't know it's ruuuude to point at someone, little girl," he said, dignified. "You seriously need to learn some manners, young lady."

Alu raised an eyebrow as Neo Taurus spoke. Strangely enough, she didn't feel intimidated by him anymore.

"You know," she said flatly, "honestly, I wouldn't mind this version of Taurus if he wasn't trying to kill me."

Both Aries and Aquarius blinked at Alu's statement. While Aries frowned uncomfortably, Aquarius gave a small snicker.

"Well, at least you're honest." Aries mumbled softly. "Although I'm not sure how Taurus would think of that."

"The scruff munchkin has a valid point." Aquarius admitted. "Our Taurus's behavior is getting very old, not to mention creepy."

Meanwhile, Rogue looked back and forth between Neo Taurus and Ivan for a moment. Jellal notices Rogue's silence and looked over at him with concern. Rogue's face was slowly turning from confused suspicion to stunned realization. What confirmed it for him was when he caught a glimpse of the crimson keys around Ivan's belt. He then remembered about what Alu said seconds ago about this guy being a soul-stealer.

In a heartbeat, it all clicked into place.

Rogue's expression changed to a very rare scowl that was full of viciousness.

"It was you!" he growled. "You stole Yukino's soul!"

At the mention of Yukino's name, as well as what had happened to her; Jellal, Eagle, and Meldy stared in shock and horror.

Sorano, who was still hanging back in silence, flinched. Her sharp eyes grew wide, and she felt her heart in her chest tighten.

Ivan smiled wickedly and chuckled with sly amusement. He looked like he was enjoying the scene of fright before him.

"Yes, it was me," he said cruelly to Rogue. "I've would've preferred that Celestial bimbo from Fairy Tail, but that other wizard from your guild was a suitable replacement."

"My mom's not a bimbo!" Alu shot back, raising a fist in a challenging manner. "And what you did to Yukino was horrible! How can you just do that to someone, and take pleasure in it?!"

"Why should I care what happens to people as long as I can get what I want?" Ivan shrugged carelessly. "Only fools would allow themselves to become emotionally attached to others."

Alu was about to speak again when Rogue suddenly tightened his grip on her shoulders. She turned to look at him and saw that he was very tense. He gave a deep growl in his throat before letting go of Alu and walking forward. Alu and the others around her watched with uncertainty as he began to march towards Ivan and the Neo Taurus. His fists were clenched, and the bangs of his hair covering his right eye gave him a really foreboding impression.

Rogue then came to a stop just a few yards away from Ivan. It was unclear of what he was going to do next. Rogue was always a calm and collected person who thought before attacking. However, Alu knew full well that he was angered by what happened to Yukino. Right now, she wasn't sure how he was going to respond to Ivan's crime.

Finally, Rogue spoke in a low voice.

"Maybe we are fools. But if being a fool means caring for other people more than yourself, then I'd rather be a fool instead of a heartless monster bent on power."

Ivan raised an eyebrow, looking almost like he was slightly amused by the sentiment.

"I know just where the path for power leads." Rogue continued. "I know that better than anyone, because I caught a glimpse of my own future where I went down that path. It leads to nothing but a pit of utter darkness that destroys your future."

When Meldy heard that, she narrowed her eyes slightly. Instantly, a small flashback of a time during the year X791 appeared in her mind. She knew what Rogue was talking about, and she couldn't help but feel empathy towards him.

"All this coming from the Shadow Dragon Slayer?" Ivan taunted. "I thought you were all about darkness."

"I control shadows, not darkness." Rogue declared. "There's a difference. If anything, you're the one who's all about darkness."

"What?" Ivan snarled.

"I can see it in your eyes." Rogue said, scowling. "You're so far gone because of your quest for power. And for what? Just to take down Fairy Tail? How pitiful."

Ivan gritted his teeth with infuriation.

Rogue closed his eyes and said, "I don't know why you have a grudge against Fairy Tail, and frankly it's none of my business."

Alu drew in a sharp breath of air when she saw a shadowy aura begin to appear around Rogue. She had seen him do that many times at the Grand Magic Games. He was going to go into Dragon Force. And when he did that, Ivan wouldn't stand a chance against the Third Generation Dragon Slayer.

Sure enough, Rogue's power erupted in a mighty display of rage. His hair stood up and whipped about with the shadows swirling around him. When he snapped his eyes open, his crimson irises were blazing with righteous anger.

"But the fact you attacked Yukino has made you an enemy of Sabertooth!" he shouted. "And worst of all, you made yourself MY enemy! Whatever it takes, I will get Yukino's soul back!"

Rogue suddenly lunged forward, shape-shifting into a shadow as he did and slipped around Neo Taurus, who tried to attack him. Rogue reached Ivan and turned back into his physical form. He then raised his fist and prepared to strike down the wicked man with a Shadow Dragon Slash.

However, Ivan was still holding Neo Taurus's Key. Just as Rogue was about to strike, Neo Taurus vanished from the place he was standing and suddenly appeared between Rogue and Ivan. Alu stared in horror as Rogue's attack struck down Neo Taurus. The Dark Golden Bull Spirit let out a short holler of pain before disappearing in a burst of black and purple orbs. All that was left in his place was a damaged shikigami.

Rogue noticed this as well and leapt back. His face was painted with stunned confusion.

"Don't look so surprised." Ivan smirked evilly. "Celestial Spirits make great shields for wizards. And since mine were created by me, I can just make them all over again, no matter how many times you take them down."

"Damn you!" Rogue snarled.

Suddenly, a huge swarm of what looked like a bunch of little clouds with mouths full of jagged teeth shot straight at Ivan. Rogue heard the attack coming and jumped out of the way just in the nick of time. As the attack closed in on Ivan, he summoned forth several streams of shikigami dolls that whipped around violently. Each whip of shikigami dolls struck those little clouds, causing them to disappear in a puff of smoke.

When the wave stopped, everyone turned to see who had unleashed the attack.

Sorano stood in an attack position with her hand stretched out towards her enemy. She had a deep and terrifying scowl on her face that was directed at Ivan. At the same time, trails of tears were streaming down her face.

This was the first time Aries noticed Sorano. Simply out of some kind of reaction, she whimpered fearfully and grabbed Alu by the girl's arm. Alu didn't take any notice of it, however.

"You horrible, vile man!" Sorano hissed at Ivan, her voice full of venom. "How dare you do something so deplorable to my innocent little sister! Return Yukino's soul, or I swear, I will kill you!"

"Oh, you don't want to do that my dear." Ivan sneered, clearly enjoying the look of hatred and pain on Sorano's face. "Fun fact about Soul-Stealing curses: if you hurt me, you also hurt the Celestial Wizard. As long as I have her soul, her life is completely in my hands."

Rogue winced, scowling so hard that he showed his teeth; and Sorano clenched with even more anger and emotional agony.

Alu growled viciously and began to tremble with fury as she turned her head back around to stare Ivan down. Once again, that demonic look returned to her eyes, making her pupils and irises shrink. Her whole body tensed up so that the muscles on her arms and legs became more predominate, her fingers curled into tight fists, and she gritted her teeth so hard that they looked like they were about to break.

Two things had made Alu absolutely livid.

If there was one thing that ticked Alu off more than someone threatening her family, it was Celestial Wizards calling their Spirits "shields". She didn't care if Ivan's Spirits were fake or not. Alu might have destroyed Neo Virgo, but that was because she was trying to protect Aries and Violet. What she did was purely out of defense for someone she cared about.

But Ivan, he was just protecting himself and he didn't care who got hurt. On top that, he was tormenting Rogue and Sorano by using Yukino's soul as a shield to protect himself.

That was it!

Ivan had crossed so many lines now that Alu didn't care how low her Magic was. She was going to take him down.

In response to her convictions, Alu's Magic erupted once again into a blazing aura of pale orange flames. Everyone standing around her almost got burned by the unexpected burst of fire. Luckily for them, they managed to step away from her before she did any damage to them.

"YOU BASTARD!" Alu roared. "YOU COWARD!"

Ivan snapped his gaze over to Alu when she said that, and saw just how much rage she was letting off through her flames.

Ivan scowled viciously at Alu.

"WHAT'D YOU CALL ME, YOU BRAT!" he bellowed.

"ARIES!" Alu yelled. "COMBO ATTACK!"

"Uh, okay!" Aries nodded and immediately prepared to attack.

The Golden Ram Spirit then darted from her spot as quick as lightening.

"Rogue, get out of the way!" Alu shouted.

Rogue hesitated for a moment. However, when Aries came within about three feet of him, he immediately transformed back into a shadow and whipped away quickly before transforming back into his human form. Ivan saw Aries coming and immediately jumped back, grapping three keys off his belt.

With a swipe of his hand, three spirits immediately appeared.

Neo Leo was one of them, and the other two were of Sagittarius and a humanized version of Ophiuchus.

Neo Sagittarius essentially looked like a typical centaur. His human-half was strong and muscular, with long straight black hair, and a belt strapped across his front. His horse half was burgundy, and was sturdy like a Clydesdale.

Neo Ophiuchus resembled a woman dressed in a nurse's outfit. On her left arm was a strange, spiked glove that was black. Her hair was spiky, a hideous green color, and her eyes were deep blue. In her right hand was a large syringe with a very sharp needle.

"He's got one of Ophiuchus?!" Rogue exclaimed.

Upon seeing these deranged versions of the Celestial Zodiac, Meldy, Sorano, Jellal, and Eagle instantly took defensive positions.

"Destroy these fools at once!" Ivan commanded. "But keep the Dragon Slayer girl alive!"

"As you wish, master." Neo Leo sneered.

Neo Sagittarius just grunted as he gave a sharp nod.

"This'll be fun." Neo Ophiuchus chuckled wickedly. "I've always wanted to dissect a Celestial Spirit."

Suddenly, Neo Ophiuchus made a lunge towards Aries. The Golden Ram Spirit shrieked when the Snake Spirit charged straight at her. She wasn't going to be able to dodge out of the way in time.

But just as Neo Ophiuchus was about to impale Aries with her syringe, Sorano sprang into action again.

"Come forth, my angels!" she shouted, raising her hand to the sky.

Instantly, one of those cloud-like creatures appeared. Although it was only one, it was massively larger than the others Sorano previously summoned. It shot between Aries and Neo Ophiuchus, shielding Aries and taking the syringe attack from Neo Ophiuchus. Neo Ophiuchus did a single backflip before she landed on her feet. She shot a quick glare at the white-haired woman.

Aries recovered quickly and turned back to look at Sorano with a shocked expression. For a brief second, the two made eye contact and felt a sense of awkwardness between them. The last time they saw each other, it wasn't exactly the best of times. So Aries wasn't exactly expecting Sorano to save her in any way.

However, seeing as the two of them had more pressing matters at hand, Sorano just gave a simple nod. Aries read and understood the nonverbal message and nodded back. They would have to settle this matter later. Right now, they had to deal with this power-hungry wizard and his army of dark Spirits first.

"Nice one, Sorano!" Alu said. "Aries and I can handle Ophiuchus! The rest of you go after Leo and Sagittarius!"

"Got it!" Rogue nodded.

"Meldy!" Jellal ordered. "You go help Aquarius!"

"Got it!" Meldy replied, running over to where Aquarius and Violet were.

"Ready, Aries?!" Alu turned to her Spirit friend.

"I'm ready when you are!" Aries replied.

"Then let's go!"

With the commands given, Alu and her team charged head-first into the fight. In response, both Neo Leo and Neo Ophiuchus raced towards the three fighters.

Neo Leo aimed right at Rogue and attempted to punch him in the face.

"PITCH BLACK PUNISHMENT!"

But Rogue was ready.

"SHADOW DRAGON WAXWING FLASH!"

Once again, Rogue transformed into a shadow that wrapped around Neo Leo's fist.

"What the-!" Neo Leo jolted.

Rogue's shadow snaked around Neo Leo's arm. Then, without warning, Rogue reappeared in a half-human/half-shadow stated and summoned the power of shadows to his hands. He struck Neo Leo's arm with great force, making Neo Leo holler out in agony. The Dark Spirit then tried to strike back, but his attack just when right through Rogue like he was nothing more than thin air.

With that attack, Jellal came swooping in using his Meteor Magic to land a hard punch on Neo Leo's back. The Dark Lion Spirit let out a sharp cry of pain as the attack sent him flying forward. No sooner had he hit the ground that he got back up again and charged at the Shadow Dragon Slayer and Crime Sorciére leader again in a white-hot fury, and a vicious aura of black fire.

At the same time, Sorano and Eagle teamed up and set their attacks on Neo Sagittarius. Since their Magic allowed them to attack from a distance, they best advantage was to stay back and strike Neo Sagittarius from afar, and dodging attacks only when they had to.

Using Arc of Time Magic, Eagle caused his Magic orb to attack the Dark Spirit with such speed and force that it looked like he had summoned more than one orb. Sorano once again summoned her smaller angels and attacked the centurion Spirit in a wave.

However, Neo Sagittarius proved to be stronger and faster than they had thought. For his large size, Neo Sagittarius dodged their simultaneous attacks quite easily. Luckily, the attacks that both Eagle and Sorano were able to land did cause some kind of damage. At any rate, it was enough to keep Neo Sagittarius from reach them. If they kept this up, they would surely win. Both of them had the immense Magic Power to do it.

Meanwhile, Alu and Aries raced towards Neo Ophiuchus. With a savage grin, Neo Ophiuchus twirled her syringe weapon with ease and it transformed into clipboard. Before Alu could guess what she was going to do next, Neo Ophiuchus swiped her hands rapidly over the board, sending razor sharp pieces of papers towards her and Aries. The two just barely managed to dodge them by ducking, jumping, back-flipping, and cartwheeling out of the way.

Even Violet and Aquarius had to duck to avoid the papers as they flew around in all directions.

"Very impressive, little Dragneel." Neo Ophiuchus said coolly, summoning her syringe back. "Not only do you have brains, but you're physically fit as well. Can't wait to see what your muscles look like when I slice them out of you."

Neo Ophiuchus then lunged towards Alu with wicked speed.

"Holy crap!" Alu gasped as the tip of the syringe headed straight for her stomach.

Alu managed to evade the attack so that it missed her body, but it didn't miss her completely. Neo Ophiuchus's needle pierced through the left corner of Alu's vest with enough force to tear a piece off. But Alu didn't have time to think about that, nor did she really care. She quickly whipped around and kicked Neo Ophiuchus in the center of her abdomen, sending her stumbling back and grimacing in pain.

Seeing the opening in Neo Ophiuchus's attack, Alu turned back to Aries.

"Aries, let's try that combo attack!"

"You sure about this?!" Aries asked. "We've never used in in an actual fight before!"

"But we have to use in now!" Alu replied urgently. "It's our only chance! Now, you ready?!"

Aries finally gave a determined face and nodded in response. Alu grinned confidently and leapt back. Aries held her ground and summoned a bunch of pink wool in her hands.

"GO, WOOL BOMB!" she shouted.

Out of Aries hands shot a massive bundle of pink, fluffy wool that wrapped around Neo Ophiuchus.

Ivan, who was watching this fight from a safe distance, began to laugh mockingly.

"You honestly think that attack will work on a powerful Zodiac Spirit?" he said. "I thought you were smarter than that. What are you going to do: send Ophiuchus to sleep?"

Alu smiled mischievously. Ivan in for a surprise.

As soon as Aries had created enough wool, she leapt backwards and Alu dashed forward. She then took a deep breath of air and aimed at Aries Wool Bomb.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

Fire shot from Alu's mouth and headed straight for Aries wool. When her flames made contact with the wool, it spread around it faster than it took to blink an eye. Suddenly, the whole thing blew up in one giant explosion of fire and wool that expanded across the center of the clearing, like a small atomic bomb that had just gone off.

This spectacle was enough to make everyone else stop their fights and stare in amazement for a brief moment. Even Ivan gawked in utter disbelief at the display of power.

Violet and Meldy gasped in shock, and Aquarius blinked with astonishment. Then the Water Spirit gave a small, impressed grin.

 _"So, the dimwit found out that Aries wool is combustible,"_ she thought to herself. _"Not bad."_

In a few moments, the fire and wool disappeared to reveal a burned Neo Ophiuchus. She was on her hands and knees and was panting for air, but she was still in one piece.

That made Alu stepped back in worry. She was expecting that attack to completely obliterate the Dark Spirit. So why didn't it work?

Alu soon got her answer when she felt a huge blow to her Magic Power. She inhaled sharply, staggered for a second. She then gripped her chest and then fell to her hands and knees. Sweat began to drip from her forehead, and her limbs began to feel weak and shaky.

Alu recognized this feeling. It happened to her before. She had used too much of her Dragon Slayer Magic before she had enough to pull off another attack. And that breath attack overexerted her reserve of that Magic so much that the energy meant for her Celestial Magic had to alter into Dragon Slayer Magic to make up for it.

This left her extremely exhausted. She was just about out of Magic now. And her increased heart rate only proved just how much she she had overdone it. Her heart was beating so hard and fast that it felt like it was going to explode inside her ribcage.

"Not now!" she gasped, struggling to breath. "Please not now!"

"Alu!" Aries cried as she ran over to her friend.

Rogue and Jellal were about to rush over to help the girl, but something caused them to stop and stagger in shock and pain.

While everyone was distracted by Alu's condition, Ivan took the opportunity to sucker-punch all of them. With a nasty grin, he released his Soul Stealing tentacles at the four remaining wizards who were fighting: Rogue, Jellal, Sorano, and Eagle. Before any of them knew what was going on, they were struck by the tentacles. Rogue was hit in the left arm, Jellal in the right side, Sorano in the leg, and Eagle in the back.

The moment those black tentacles hit their targets, they instantly became paralyzed.

Meanwhile, Aries immediately got to Alu's side and knelt down to her level. She did her best to support her key holder, but she didn't quite know what to do in this situation. There was danger all around and Alu was almost on the verge of passing out.

The problem only got worse as Neo Ophiuchus rose to her feet and turned menacingly to Alu and Aries. She had a clear look of both amusement and vengeance in her eyes. And she locked them straight onto Alu. Alu looked up and stared at her with concern.

"Nice try, little Dragneel," Neo Ophiuchus snarled. "But you really should know better than to use up too much Magic. Especially since you have a Magic Deficiency."

Alu gasped in horror when Neo Ophiuchus said that.

"Oh well," the Dark Snake Charmer grinned slyly, "seeing as you barely have the strength to stand, I guess I should put you out of your misery." Neo Ophiuchus turned back to Ivan. "That is if you allow me to, master."

"Just hold on a second, Ophiuchus." Ivan replied almost carelessly. "I want her to watch this. While I have no use for these souls, their Magic Energy should suffice."

"As you wish." Neo Ophiuchus said.

With a curl of his fingers, Ivan activated his Soul Stealing Curse. Jellal, Rogue, Sorano, and Eagle all hollered and cried out in pain as the Curse engulfed each of them in a yellow aura and began to sap away their Magic Power. The looks on their faces showed just how much agony and terror they were all in. With each passing second, their Magic was getting weaker and weaker.

The Neo Spirits just watched. While Neo Sagittarius looked stoically pleased, Neo Leo and Neo Ophiuchus were smiling wickedly with amusement.

As Ivan continued to suck away the Magic Power of his victims, a change started to come over him. A dark purplish aura began to form around him. It grew bigger and bigger as he continued to absorb all the Magic Power that he could from the four wizards. The expression on his face slowly changed to insanity, like he was getting drunk from all this power.

"Oh, all this power!" he laughed manically. "It's invigorating! All of you are powerful wizards! With this reserve of energy, I can increase my Magic tenfold!"

"NO, STOP!" Meldy cried in terror. "YOU'RE GOING TO KILL THEM!"

Alu watched all this happen right in front of her. Her senses felt shot with fright, and a horrible chill surged through her body.

She couldn't stand to watch this happen, but there was nothing she could do. Her Magic Power was out. She weak and helpless.

In this horrible moment, Alu was expecting her father to come charging out of the forest at any moment. That's what always happened in the past. Natsu was always there to bail her out of trouble. No matter how many times she had run away, he had always come after her. He was always there for her when she needed him. He always came just in the nick of time to save her and the others. He just had to come. In her mind's eye, Alu could almost see him coming out of the shadows of the trees now and charging at Ivan to put an end to all this.

But Natsu didn't come. He wasn't coming this time. He wasn't anywhere near here.

Alu was alone.

"Dad, where are you?" Alu whimpered fearfully. "Please come. I need you."


	20. Chapter 20: White Fire

**Chapter 20**

 **White Fire**

Suddenly, Alu felt two delicate hands place themselves on each side of her head. She inhaled deeply and straighten herself up it caught her off guard. Aries looked behind her to see who had done this, and she gasped in relieved shock.

It was Aquarius.

"Your father isn't coming." Aquarius said to Alu. "But right now, this guy needs to be stopped, and you're the only one left who can fight him. I know you can do it, Alu. So I'll give you a hand."

"Aquarius, what are you gonna do?" Alu asked nervously.

"Just relax," Aquarius ordered, "this might feel weird, and may hurt a little."

"What?!" Alu shrieked. "Wait! What does that - ?!"

Before Alu could finish her sentence, Aquarius closed her eyes and concentrated. Alu couldn't see what was going on since the Water Spirit was behind her, but Aries could. Something underneath the right side of Aquarius's skirt began to glow a pure white light. The light then traveled up Aquarius's body and through her arms.

The moment they reached Aquarius's hands, Alu's eyes snapped wide open. She screamed in startled pain as the white power entered her body and slithered down her neck and into the center of her chest. It was like a stream of hot water had just entered her bloodstream and began to rush throughout the rest of her body. The moment it had reached her heart, it spread out across the rest of her until she began to glow like a star.

Alu's cry alerted Ivan and his lackeys, and they all turned their attention to the young girl. They all gave startled expressions when what was happening to her.

Rogue, Jellal, Sorano, and Eagle were in too much pain to take any notice of what was happening to Alu. Their awareness of the outside world was practically gone. All that they could process was the fact that their Magic Power was being drained from them fast.

Both Meldy and Violet also watched with shock. It was only now that they realized that Aquarius had moved away from them. They were so fixated on what Ivan was doing to their friends that they didn't realize the Water Spirit had made her way over to Alu until the girl suddenly screamed.

As this new power surged through Alu, images also began to quickly flash inside her mind.

* * *

 _A blond-haired woman in dirty rags tied up to a wooden stake, her face painted with fear, and her doe-brown eyes wide with terror._

 _An enormous lizard-like creature that was the color of poison blue. Its jaws opened wide and were closing in for a quick kill._

 _A crowd of people screaming and running away._

 _A familiar voice that said, "You're not getting a free meal this time! If you want these people, then you have to get past me! Just so you know, a fight with me is definitely going to scare the hell out of you!"_

 _And lastly, the image of flames burning pure white._

* * *

Alu's consciousness flew back to her body, and she felt her strength returning. The emptiness of her Magic Power had suddenly vanished. What's more, it felt stronger than before.

At the same time, her world became one big haze.

Aquarius removed her hands.

"Listen up, you two," she ordered to both Alu and Aries, "once you've gotten everyone free, do that combo attack again. And this time, make it count."

Alu said nothing. She just rose to her feet as a strange, wispy white aura began to appear around her, ruffling her hair and cloths by some kind of wind that was only affecting her. For a second, Alu hung her head down, making her bangs hide her eyes in shadows.

Then she slowly lifted her face, revealing her eyes to be blazing bright, literally.

Ivan and the other Neo Zodiac Spirits paused when they saw Alu's change. One moment she was down on the ground in a weakened state. Now she was standing back up, tense and ready to fight. And her appearance had changed a little bit. Her eyes looked like they were glowing white, and her scowl was different than before. It wasn't wild and demonic like it had been before.

It was seriously deadly. And it was aimed at them.

Alu looked like herself, yet at the same time she didn't look like herself.

But no one had time to think about that for too long.

Alu bent forward a little bit, braced herself, then in a flash, she darted forward with such speed that she became a silvery blur. She moved so quickly that none of the Neo Zodiacs were able to track her movement and stop her.

The next thing Ivan knew, the tension in black tentacles suddenly snapped. He yelped in surprise and stumbled backwards into some bushes.

The severed ends of the tentacles that were attached to Jellal, Rogue, Sorano, and Eagle writhed for a moment before disappearing. The four wizards gasped as the sensation of their Magic being syphoned away from them stopped, and they all collapsed.

After she had cut the tentacles, Alu slid to a halt and turned back to the battlefield. She stared down the Neo Zodiac Spirits.

"GET HER!" Ivan shouted, scrambling out of the bushes he had fallen into. "GET THE BRAT!"

The Neo Zodiacs instantly opened their command and all rushed toward Alu. The sakura-haired girl narrowed her eyes and braced herself. Just as they got within range, Alu back-flipped out of the way. Then on the rebound of her recovery, she shot towards them. This caused all of them to stop, as they expected her to try and get away from them.

In their hesitation, Alu took her chance to adjust her body to kick them each in the head. For a small person, Alu was surprisingly strong, especially in her legs. Her kicks were strong enough to make all of the Neo Zodiac Spirits stumbled back into each other. Neo Sagittarius collided with Neo Ophiuchus, who fell back into Neo Leo. Because their brains were jostled by the sudden attack the head, they were all disoriented. They all fell into a tangled heap on the ground.

As that happened, Neo Ophiuchus's syringe flew out of her grip and rolled along in the grass for a few feet before coming to a stop directly in front of Ivan.

While all that was going on, Meldy over to her fallen comrades to see the extent of their injuries. Violet flew closely behind her.

"Jellal!" Meldy cried. "Eagle! Sorano!"

"We're okay, Meldy!" Jellal answered, straining to get to his feet. "Help Alu!"

On that order, Meldy came to a halt and looked over at Alu. Alu remained silent as she turned to look over at the petunia-haired woman. Meldy blinked as Alu's stare sent a weird chill down her spine.

It was like Alu was almost possessed.

"Meldy!" Aries suddenly called out.

Meldy snapped out of her trance and turned towards the Celestial Spirit, who was running towards her.

"Aries!" Meldy said urgently. "Let's form a Sensory Link! With it, I can help you increase your power!"

"Alright!" Aries nodded. "Let's do it!"

Using her Maguilty Sense Magic, Meldy created a Sensory Link with Aries. Aries was enveloped in a pink light for a brief second. When the light disappeared, a glowing band with a heart in the center appeared around Aries wrist.

"Violet! Get the others out of the way!" Meldy commanded the purple Exceed.

"On it!" Violet replied as she reached Eagle, who was just starting to get up.

"I'll get the rest!" Aquarius yelled.

Using the Water Magic in her urn, Aquarius summoned forth a wave of water that rushed over to weakened wizards. As Violet pulled Eagle up into the air, Jellal, Rogue, and Sorano were swept up in the current. Surprisingly, it wasn't as violet as they were expecting. It wasn't exactly gentle, but none of them felt like their lives were in danger. Aquarius commanded her water to bring the three wizards away from the fight and around behind her.

As soon as the others were behind Aquarius, Aries and Meldy combined their Magic to create a giant Wool Bomb that enveloped all of the Neo Zodiac Spirits. Of course, all of them fought and struggled to get out of it, so Aries and Meldy had to use everything they had to keep the Wool Bomb from disappearing.

Seeing her chance, Alu slammed the palms of her hands together and fire erupted around her. However, her fire was different than before. When the wizards of Sabertooth and Crime Sorciére saw her flames, they all gasped.

"Alu's fire!" Violet suddenly exclaimed. "It turned WHITE!"

Indeed, Alu's fire had turned white. It was as white as a star. The heat coming from it was even hotter than before. It didn't affect Alu in anyway, but everyone else around her could feel the increase in heat and strength.

But Alu herself didn't seem to notice. All her focus was on what she was going to do next. She took in a deep breath of air and roared in a strong, loud voice,

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

Brilliant white fire shot from Alu's mouth and hit the enormous Wool Bomb. This time, the explosions were larger than the one Alu and Aries had previously conjured. The light it gave off was so bright that everyone had to shield their eyes. It seemed to reach up to the sky and shine as spectacularly as the moon itself.

The force of the impact even sent Aries and Meldy flying backwards. Luckily, Aquarius was able to break their landings with her Water Magic. Violet and Eagle were sent tumbling in the air over the treetops of the forest for a few yards, both of them yelling and screaming out of reaction.

At the same time, the anguishing cries of Neo Leo, Neo Sagittarius, and Neo Ophiuchus could be heard. They immediately faded away as the Dark Spirits were destroyed by the blast, leaving behind only chard shikigami dolls.

However, what no one noticed didn't was Ivan look at Neo Ophiuchus syringe in front of him. As Ivan stared at the oversized medical instrument, he spotted something attached to it. Thinking quickly, he hunched down for a moment and snatched the something off of the needle. As soon as he did, the syringe vanished.

Then he vanished into the shadow of the trees.

After the effects of the explosion faded away, the only thing everyone could do was stare.

Alu stood tall, her face still stern and full of determination. Then it changed into stunned and she drew in a sharp breath of air. The glowing whiteness faded from her eyes, returning them to normal. Alu froze for a second.

Suddenly, she felt her energy drain again, and her whole world faded. The silvery fire around her disappeared, and she fell backwards onto the grass. There, she laid flat on her back, her eyes closed.

As soon as they saw Alu fall, Aries and Meldy quickly got to their feet and ran over to her. By the time they reach her, the others had managed to recover and hurried over to join them. At the same time, Violet and Eagle came flying back.

"Alu, are you okay?!" Aries cried, almost in a panic.

Meldy examined Alu's vital signs. She first placed an ear on the girl's chest to check for a heartbeat. When she found one, she then brought her face close to Alu's mouth.

"Meldy." Jellal whispered with concern.

"It's alright, she's alive." Meldy said, sitting up look at the others with a small smile.

"That's a relief." Eagle replied, exhaling deeply.

"We can't rest easy yet." Rogue interjected. "We have to find Ivan now."

"Too late." Sorano said, casting her gaze down with regret. "By now, he's probably gotten away."

Rogue paused for a second when he heard that. He then sniffed the air to catch a whiff of Ivan's scent in hopes that he could still pursue him.

"Don't, Rogue." Jellal warned. "I understand how you feel, but even if we could catch up with him, none of us can take him on right now."

Rogue grimaced, realizing that Jellal was right. As much as he hated to admit it, that Soul Stealing Curse had left him weakened. He barely had any Magic Power left, as did the others who had the same thing happen to them.

In this state, he wouldn't be able to fight Ivan.

"Damn it!" he clenched. "He still has Yukino's soul! He's using her power! He's hurting her!"

For a moment, Rogue recalled that moment when Ivan had him locked in the binds of his Curse. As his Magic was being drained, he could hear Yukino calling out to him.

/

 _As Rogue world began to waver between fading out and trying to stay solid, he found himself suspended in what looked like a pocket of space that was slowly turning into a sickly green color._

 _"Rogue!"_

 _That familiar voice made Rogue jolt in shock and turn around quickly. What he saw made his heart first leap for joy, but then immediately drop down into his stomach with dread._

 _Yukino was floating in the limbo about several yards away from him. She was still dressed in the cloths she usually wore, and her whole body was glowing a brilliant blue. Her eyes were wide, clearly showing that she was terrified and in agony. They also showed that she was crying out of regret and despair._

 _"Yukino!"_

 _"Rogue, I-I'm sorry! I don't want to hurt you, but I have no control!"_

 _"This isn't your fault, Yukino!" Rogue assured. "I'll get you out of here! Take my hand!"_

 _"No!" Yukino pleaded. "Please, you have to stay away! Ivan will get you, too!"_

 _"I won't leave you here!" Rogue declared, fighting to reach the woman in front of him. "Everyone at Sabertooth is waiting for you! Your sister, too! I promise I'm gonna get you out of here!"_

 _"Please, Rogue!" Yukino cried. "You mustn't!"_

 _But Rogue was determined. He fought against the strain to get to Yukino. Nothing was going to stop him from getting to her. He was going to save her._

 _Suddenly, something that looked like a bolt of lightning shot from nowhere and struck Yukino. The white-haired woman screamed out in pain. At the same time, her blue light began to fade a bit._

 _Rogue realized with horror that it must be Ivan stealing Yukino's Celestial Magic. She was suffering right in front of him. Seeing her in pain made Rogue feel like he was experiencing the same agony that she was._

 _It was too much to bear! He had to make it stop! He had to save her!_

 _"JUST TAKE MY HAND!" the Shadow Dragon Slayer commanded. "PLEASE!"_

 _In pain, and desperate, Yukino obey out of instinct and reached for Rogue. Their hands were just within centimeters of each other, and getting closer by the second. The closer they got, the more hopeful Rogue became._

 _Finally, they were within range. With one final effort, Rogue reach other for Yukino's hand…_

 _Suddenly, Rogue felt himself fly backwards as fast as a Magic Bullet._

 _"ROGUE!" Yukino screeched._

 _All Rogue could do was watch helplessly as Yukino grew rapidly smaller and disappear altogether. The limbo around him vanished, and his consciousness slammed right back into his physical body._

 _The Curse that had ensnared him had been severed._

 _Dazed and distraught, Rogue fell to the ground, exhausted and out of Magic Power._

/

Seeing the Shadow Dragon Slayer in emotional agony, Eagle walked over and reach up to place a hand on his shoulder. Rogue felt the gesture and looked down at the scarlet-haired boy.

"We'll get Yukino's soul back." Eagle said confidently. "Now that we know who stole it, we can figure out what to do. But I promise you, Rogue," Eagle turned to look the white-haired Angel Wizard, "and you too, Sorano, we'll save Yukino."

Sorano narrowed her eyes sadly before giving a slow nod. Rogue just turned away in silence.

"In the meantime, we should rest up." Jellal ordered. "We should also get Alu somewhere safe. I don't know how it's going to be before she wakes up."

"Our campsite's not too far from here." Aries said. "Why don't we head back there?"

"Good idea." Meldy replied. "We can regroup there."

"You guys go on ahead." Rogue said. "I need to go back and get Frosch."

"Right," Jellal nodded, "just follow our scent and meet up with us as soon as you can."

Rogue acknowledged the order and immediately set out to find his Exceed partner. As he did, Jellal knelt down, and with Meldy and Aries helping, hoisted the unconscious Alu up onto his back. Once he had gotten a secure hold on her, he and the other followed Aries as she led them back to their campsite.

As they walked, Eagle said,

"I gotta admit, what Alu did was amazing. But I've never seen her fight that way before. It was like she was a different person. Well, partially anyway."

"Not to mention, her Magic changed." Sorano pointed out. "Couldn't you feel it? It was more intense and powerful than before."

"Not by much, but still it was impressive." Jellal said. "We were just lucky she powered up in time to save us. That said, I wonder what could've happened."

Aries turned around to look at the others and opened her mouth to explain to the wizards what happened. However, a sharp gesture from Aquarius caught her eye. The Water Spirit was in the back of the group, so Aries had to look past the others to see her, and only she could see her. Aries saw that Aquarius was looking at her with a stern expression, and had her index finger up to her mouth. When Aquarius saw that she had gotten the Golden Ram Spirit's attention, she silently shook her head in a warning manner.

Aries immediately understood the message and closed her mouth again, swallowing back the words she was about to say. She turned back around and continued to lead the group.

However, that silent message between the two Spirits didn't go completely unnoticed. Both Meldy and Violet managed to catch a glimpse of it. Since the two of them were side-by-side, they exchanged confused glances for second. Then they both nodded, understanding that they should probably keep what happened to themselves as well. They didn't know what was going on, and didn't fully understand what happened to Alu back there either; but they both had a feeling that it was important, and secret.

Still, Violet couldn't help but look over at Alu with curiosity.

Just what did Aquarius do to Alu? What could've possibly happened to give Alu a huge boost in power all of a sudden?

More importantly, what could've happened to make her flames change to white?


	21. Chapter 21: Repressing Rage

**Chapter 21**

 **Repressing Rage**

 _"Stop it, Agnar! Why are you doing this?!"_

 _"You of all people should know why! These monsters have brought nothing but suffering among mankind! Think about what they did to your whole clan! Your family!"_

 _"How can you say that?! And how can you justify what you're doing?! These Dragons have fought to protect and save us! They are our comrades! How could you just turn on them like this?!"_

 _"You're one to talk! You turned your back on this world a long time ago when you sided with the Dragons!"_

 _"What?! No! I never-!"_

 _"It was YOU who brought mankind into this war! It was because of you that the Dragons attacked in the first place! You betrayed both men and Dragons! Don't lecture me about betrayal when you're a traitor on both sides!"_

 _"No! NO! THAT'S NOT TRUE!"_

 _"It is true! YOU started this war!"_

* * *

"No. No! That's not…! That's not…!"

"Alu! Wake up!"

Alu's eyes snapped wide open and she gasped for air. Her senses snapped together the moment she heard the sound of a teenaged boy calling out to her. The moment she was awake, jackknifed up into a sitting position.

"Hey, take it easy!" a sweet, familiar female voice said.

Alu panted heavily for a moment looking around. She was lying on very comfortable pink wool that was about three inches thick. Both Aries and Eagle were knelt down right next to her. Aries was on Alu's right while Eagle was on her left.

Eagle was just a little taller than Alu. He greatly resembled his father, Jellal, but his hair was the exact same shade of scarlet as his mother, Erza.

Like all members of Crime Sorciére, he donned a blue and white cloak with a large hood that was currently down. Underneath his cloak, he had on a grayish long-sleeved shirt with dark blue trousers with a silvery colored belt around his waist, and oak-brown boots on his feet. On his wrists, and covering most of his lower arms, were silvery gauntlets that held the lacrima's he used with his Arc of Time Magic.

"Eagle?" Alu blinked. "Aries?"

"You okay?" Eagle asked.

"I…I think so." Alu nodded slowly. She then jolted up and looked around quickly. "But where's Ivan?"

"I'm afraid he got away."

Alu turned to see who had spoken and saw Jellal sitting on a fallen tree log in front of a campfire just a few feet away from her. And he wasn't the only one. All around the campfire were Sorano, Meldy, Aquarius, Violet, and Frosch. Each of them were also sitting on logs. Rogue, on the other hand, was standing over a large pot that was over the campfire. He was stirring around the contents inside, occasionally taking out the wooden spoon to examine the soup to see if it was ready or not.

Of course, the moment Alu started to come around, they had turned their attention to her.

Alu brought a hand up to her chest to try and calm her rapidly beating heart. She shivered a bit as she slowly inhaled and exhaled deep breaths. Her face had gone a little pale, and cold sweat covered her whole forehead.

"You sure you're okay?" Eagle asked, concerned.

"I…yeah." Alu hesitated, giving a dazed expression. "But what happened?"

"You don't remember?" Meldy inquired.

Alu fell silent for a moment and narrowed eyes down at her knees, trying to recall her memories.

"I remember Aquarius saying some cryptic stuff to me, but…I don't really remember much after that." Alu looked back up at the others. "Why? What happened?"

"Well," Sorano shrugged, "to put it simply, you suddenly powered up and saved us from having all of our Magic drained. Then after that, you blew up three of Ivan's Spirits with your new white fire."

"Huh?" Alu straightened in surprise. "White fire?"

"Yeah," Eagle confirmed, "your flames turned white for a moment."

Alu stared at the scarlet-haired boy for a second with a look of absolute befuddlement. She then moved her gazed down to her right hand. She slowly lifted her hand up and held out in front of her. With only a second of hesitation, Alu summoned her Dragon Slayer Magic.

What she saw made her gasp in surprise. Everyone else widened their eyes when they saw the girl's flame.

Alu's fire was no longer pale, sickly orange. It was radiant white. Not only that, but it felt stronger than before. And the way the flame flickered was different from normal fire. It was subtle and beautiful in its movements. But its light was bright and warm, like she was holding a star in the palm of her hand.

"Looks like that power you got is permanent." Jellal stated, impressed.

"But…how?" Alu breathed, completely shocked.

Alu then remembered what happened before her world became hazy. She turned to Aquarius. The Water Spirit glanced at Alu for only a second before turning her head away to avoid the girl's eyes.

"Aquarius, did you…?"

"I just gave you a small upgrade, that's all." Aquarius admitted, sounding rather disinterested. "We were in a pinch and you were the only one who was left to fight."

Alu blinked again and let the white flame in her hand burn out. Before she could say anything else, she felt a deep, and slightly painful rumble in her belly, which was accompanied by a loud, moaning growl. Alu grimaced with embarrassment and curled in on herself the muffle the hunger pains of her stomach. Her face only got even more red when every eye in the group turned to look at her.

"Why don't you come and get some supper." Rogue suggested. "The soup's just about ready."

"Okay, sure." Alu mumbled.

With Eagle and Aries nearby to support her if necessary, Alu slowly got to her feet and walked over to the campfire. Jellal scooted over and allowed a place for Alu and Eagle to sit. Once her key holder was in her place, Aries walked around the group to sit down beside Aquarius.

"Frocsh, will you give me a hand?" Rogue asked, turning to his Exceed partner.

"Sure thing, Rogue." Frosch agreed happily.

The Shadow Dragon Slayer used the wooden spoon to scoop the soup out of the pot, and poured it into ten wooden bowls. As he did, little green Exceed passed them out one by one to everyone around the fire. He stared with Alu, and then moved onto Aries, Aquarius, Violet, Meldy, Sorano, Eagle, and finally Jellal.

"This smells good, Rogue." Meldy complimented.

"Hmm," Sorano hummed contently as she took a taste of it, "it tastes good, too. I'm actually impressed."

"Well," Rogue shrugged modestly as he poured some soup for Frosch, "I'm not as good as Yukino. But she did teach me a thing or two."

Despite being ravenous, and the fact that bowl full of delicious fish soup was placed in her lap, Alu didn't react too much. Normally, she would've immediately gulped down the food the second she got her hands on it. But this time, she just stared down into the broth as the smell wafted up to her in the form of vapor. The aroma made her stomach beg for food, but she seemed to have lost all sense of consciousness to her hunger. She just stared down into the bowl with a wooden expression.

It was only when she felt a light nudge against her left shoulder that she came back to reality. She looked over to see Eagle looking back at her with a concerned.

"Hey, you sure you're okay?" he asked caringly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alu replied unconvincingly. "Just…a lot's happened, you know."

"Well, you better eat while the soup's still hot." Eagle advised. "You need to get your strength back up."

Alu just made a soft grunt of acknowledgement before bringing the bowl up to her mouth. The moment the savory soup made contact with her tongue, she began slurping down as much as she could. After a while, she brought the bowl down a little bit to chew up the pieces of fish meat and vegetables her mouth had collected. Once she had swallowed all of that, she repeated the process until she had devoured every last drop of soup.

For a while, everyone just ate in silence. They were all just as hungry as the young Dragon Slayer girl, and they just wanted to get some food in them before they did anything else.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, they all let out big sighs of content.

"Thanks a lot, Rogue." Violet said with a smile. "That was delicious."

"I'm glad you liked it." Rogue nodded graciously.

"Well," Jellal spoke up, placing his empty bowl down at his feet, "now that we've ate our fill, I think we should now discuss this whole matter with Ivan."

The moment that hateful man's name was spoken, a wave of fearful resentment passed through everyone. Rogue and Sorano reacted with clenched fists and deep scowls. Meldy's expression grew serious. Violet and Frosch looked at one another with worried expressions. Aries turned to Aquarius, but the Water Spirit avoided eye contact.

Alu looked down, making her bangs cover her eyes in shadows. She tightened her grip around the bowl in her hands, almost like she wanted to crush the poor thing. At the same time, she curled her lips into her mouth and bit down on them and scowled.

Several images of Ivan's wicked face flashed in her mind. It sent a shiver down her spine, but it also made her chest burn with hatred. Every fiber of her being loathed that man with a burning passion. She was so angry that it was a wonder that she didn't set the wooden bowl on fire.

Eagle saw Alu's reaction, but didn't say anything. He just looked at her with concern.

Jellal sensed everyone's apprehension and anger. He was feeling the same way about the whole situation with the former Raven Tail Guild Master. However, as the leader of Crime Sorciére, he had to keep a cool head.

"I guess I should start by explaining why Meldy, Sorano, Eagle, and myself are out here," he said calmly. "A few weeks ago, the Magic Library had been broken into. After the Magic Council did their investigation, we snuck in to do some snooping around of our own."

"It turns out that some books had been stolen from special chambers." Meldy interjected. "Apparently, whatever was inside them was privileged information. As we did more investigation, we found that the books that had been stolen were related to four things."

"Those things in question were the Dark Guild Tartaros, Historia Magic, Celestial Magic, and anything related to souls." Sorano said, narrowing her eyes. "And after encountering Ivan just hours ago, it makes more sense now. I think it's safe to say that he's the one who stole those books."

"As for what those books contained," Jellal replied, "beyond their subject matter, we're not quite sure. All I can assume is that they are somehow connected Ivan's ability to create his own set of Celestial Spirits."

"They might be imitations," Aquarius spoke up, "but they are no joking matter. Ivan gave them the ability to slay us true Celestial Spirits."

Aries shivered in fear and curled up slightly, bringing both her hands up to her heart. Strangely, Sorano saw the Golden Ram Spirit's reaction and gave small, almost unnoticeable frown. Of course, she looked away quickly to avoid being noticed.

"Anyway," Jellal continued, "it's clear that Ivan's gotten stronger, and more dangerous."

"And he's got Yukino's soul." Rogue said, clenching his fists and doing his best to restrain his anger. "No doubt he learned how to steal souls through the information about Tartaros. As for how he learned to harness her power, I don't know."

"Either way, we have to stop him." Jellal said. "The rest of Crime Sorciére are out looking for more clues as we speak. The fact that all of us met up here is purely coincidence."

The leader of the independent guild then turned to the pink-haired girl sitting next to him. He fell silent for a moment when he saw just how tense she was.

It wasn't just him either. The moment everyone saw Alu's face, they became nervous.

Alu was staring at the fire with a scowl on her face. Her eyes had a slight demonic look to them, which was to be expected. For those who knew Alu, the fact that she would get a demonic look when she was mad was natural for her. It was only depending on the intensity of her anger that made the expression vary from mild to dangerously scary. Nearly all the muscles her body were taut, as if she was getting ready to pounce on someone.

Jellal hesitated for a second. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke in a calm voice.

"Alu, would you mind telling us why you're out here?"

Alu's eyes slowly moved to look at Jellal for a moment. Although the blue-haired man knew the scowl she had wasn't directed at him, he still got a nervous vibe when she looked at him. Alu then shifted her gaze back to the fire in front of her.

"I'm out here because I'm on a mission to repair Aquarius's Key." Alu said in a low voice. "I didn't know about Ivan until we bumped into him."

Alu's hands tightened, threatening to crush the bowl she was holding. Eagle swallowed hard before reaching over and taking the dish from the girl's hands. Alu didn't notice it, nor did she care. She just curled her fingers up into fists that were clenched so hard that her nails dug into her palms.

"And that coward is after my dad," she growled viciously. "I swear, if he so much as lays a finger on him, I'll burn him into a pile of ashes."

"And just how do you plan to do that?" a voice asked sarcastically.

Alu looked up sharply to the one who asked her that question. Aquarius had turned back to give Alu a stern expression. This made Alu narrow her eyes.

"After we've repaired your key, I'm gonna find him myself and kick his butt." Alu stated with absolute certainty.

"I don't think that's a wise idea, Alu." Meldy said as gently as she could. "I think it would be best if you went back to Fairy Tail after you're done with your mission."

"And let Ivan get away with what he's done!?" Alu snapped.

Everyone turned to look at Alu with sudden expressions of worry. Well, everyone except for Aquarius that is.

"I-I didn't say that." Meldy stuttered, leaning back in her seat. "I'm just saying that it would better if you returned to Fairy Tail until Ivan is dealt with."

Alu tensed even more and stood up quickly. This was enough to make Jellal and Eagle move away from her slightly.

"You except me to sit by and let Ivan hunt down my dad like an assassin?!" Alu yelled angrily. "No way! I'm not going to stand by and let Ivan get away with this! This is personal now!"

"Alu, calm down." Eagle said as calmly as he could. "We understand why you would be upset, but you saw how powerful Ivan is."

"I could care less about his power!" Alu shouted at the scarlet-haired boy, making him jump and cower in on himself. "I don't care what he's trying to do! He's after my dad and that's more than enough reason for me to fight him!"

Seeing the girl's temper getting out of control, Aquarius rose up.

"Then you're going to end up dead!" she stated harshly.

Alu gritted her teeth and deepened her scowl as she turned towards Aquarius. The Water Bearer stared straight back at the girl, looking her in the eye.

"You really think you can take him on as you are now?!" Aquarius continued in her angry tone. "The only reason you could this time was because everyone here came to help you! Open your eyes, scruff munchkin! You're not strong enough or powerful enough to take him on by yourself! You fight him now, he's gonna kill you!"

That only infuriated Alu even more. She was already on a short fuse because of the recent events. Those words ignited the bomb inside her, and she lost it.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK!" Alu screamed, her voice filled with painful rage. "THAT'S WHAT EVERYONE THINKS! I'M NOT A WEAK LINK! AND I'M NOT A TRAITOR!"

After that, there was dead silence. Everyone stared at Alu with stunned expressions. They could see just by her body language that she was filled to the brim with ire. At the same time, there seemed to be an aching look in her eyes, like she was trying so hard to repress an emotion that was desperate to break through. It was unclear of what she was going to do next.

Finally, Alu winced and turned around quickly. She vaulted over the log she was sitting on and dashed off into the woods.

"Alu, wait!" Aries called out, reaching her hand towards the direction her key holder disappeared in.

But it was in vain. Alu had already disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

"What's wrong with her?" Sorano asked, blinking with bewilderment.

"And did she mean by "traitor"?" Rogue asked.

"You got me." Frosch answered innocently. "But she seemed really upset about something."

"You think?" Violet said sarcastically. "She seemed more than a little upset to me."

"Maybe…one of us should go talk to her." Eagle suggested.

"I'll go." Aries volunteered.

However, just before the Golden Ram Spirit was about to get up, Aquarius shot a hand out to silently tell her to remain seated.

"Let me talk to her," she ordered. "You all just stay here. After all, you still need to regain your strength. Not to mention, you need to come up with a plan to stop Ivan."

"Are you sure you can handle this on your own?" Jellal asked, concerned.

"Don't worry," Aquarius replied, "I can handle her."

"Okay then. Good luck."

Aquarius gave a single nod. Then she left the camp circle and headed off in the direction that Alu ran off in.

Aries watched her fellow Celestial Spirit as she vanished into the forest. She bit her lip with worry. She clasped her hands together and hoped that things between Alu and Aquarius would turn out better than she was expecting.

Although considering how things were going, she didn't have much to bet on with that.

All she could do was wait for them to return. And if they came back with more bruises and scratches then she and the others would know the worst had happened.


	22. Chapter 22: Bright Starlight

**Chapter 22**

 **Bright Starlight**

Alu kept running through the shadows of the forest. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. The driving force that kept her going was the pain and ache in her chest that tightened with each step she took. It wasn't because of any physical that made her hurt. It was emotional. All her frustrated feelings she had kept bottled up for so long, on top of the recent stress that was forced on her because of Ivan's threat, finally began to strangle her soul.

Suddenly, Alu's foot got caught by a root sticking out of the ground. She yelped as she tripped and fell. And as if her luck wasn't bad enough, she had come upon the top of of a hill. So as she fell, she tumbled down the slope into a small glen. She came to a stop at the bottom of it, where she laid flat on her back in the grass, panting heavily for air and staring up at the night sky. The moon shone down on the landscape in a wonder of silvery light, and the stars twinkled in the endless bluish black space high above the world.

Alu stared up at the constellations for a short moment. Then she lifted up her arm to cover her eyes with the back of her right hand as she closed them tightly. She gritted her teeth and clenched her left fist so hard that she tore up grass. The slightest sign of tears began to form on the sides of her eyes. She began to shiver from the effort of keeping them falling.

"Oh, great." she muttered to herself. "Even natures hates me."

"Wow, that was graceful. Never seen someone trip and tumble with such skill and coordination."

Alu's eyes snapped open. She knew that sarcastic voice. And it was a voice she didn't want to hear at the moment.

Alu removed her hand and saw Aquarius standing over her. The Spirit's arms were folded across her front, and she was looking at the young wizard with her signature frown.

Alu instantly scowled. With a cry of rage, she shot up from her spot and moved to try and hit Aquarius. Aquarius reacted quickly by grabbing Alu by her wrist and keeping it from landing its punch.

"Seriously, scruff munchkin, you need to calm down!" Aquarius scolded, tightening her grip.

"Shut up, Aquarius!" Alu yelled. "I don't want to deal with your crap right now!"

Alu yanked her hand out of Aquarius's hold and stepped back. She tensed her whole body, bracing herself for a fight.

"Well, that's too bad for you." Aquarius said sharply. "I'm not going anywhere until you've gotten some common sense knocked into you."

"Oh, what are you gonna do?!" Alu retorted. "Threaten me like always?! Turn me into a drowned corpse?!"

"If it's going to stop you from going after Ivan, I will." Aquarius replied. "You really think you can take him on by yourself? If you do, then you're even stupider than your mother."

"Shut up!" Alu yelled, letting a twinge of hurt slip into her voice. "You're just like everyone else! You think I'm pathetic because I have a Magic Deficiency!"

"I didn't say that." Aquarius stated.

"But that's what you think!" Alu accused viciously. "I'm not stupid! That's what everyone thinks! Even my own parents think that! No matter what I do, no matter how hard I train, I can't get anywhere! I'm always stuck in the same place! I've never even won any of my fights on my own!"

Alu then grimaced as she fought back the tears that were trying so hard to escape her eyes. Aquarius remained silent as she watched the young girl.

"Every time I try to win my own fights, someone always has to come and save me, and I hate it!" Alu went on, her voice wavering with each shout. "I hate being weak! What's worse is that nobody understands! They say that everything is my fault! And I'm sick of everyone saying I'm just going through some stupid teenager phase! They don't even to try to understand! And now there's a madman after my dad, and I'm the only one who knows about it! Ivan's the biggest coward I've ever met, but he's insanely powerful! My Magic is so weak that half of Crime Sorciére had my butt! I couldn't even protect Aries, you, or Violet! And I don't remember how we managed to escape or what happened to give me that power up in the first place! I just...AUGH, why am I even telling you any of this?! Dammit! I don't even know what to believe in anymore!"

Alu stopped her ranting to bring her hand up to her eyes. She angrily brushed her tears away, forcing the rest of them to stay where they were. She didn't want to show anymore weakness to Aquarius than she already did. She trembled from the force of keeping herself from crying. It felt like a knife had slit her stomach open, and her guts were spilled out on the ground in front of her.

She was angry, upset, and embarrassed all at the same time. She didn't want to increase that by crying like a baby in front of a Celestial Spirit that didn't have a high opinion of her.

Aquarius stared at Alu with a neutral for a good long while, processing what the girl had just told her.

Finally, Aquarius closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. She then opened her eyes, and her expression softened just a smidge. For anyone who knew Aquarius, this was a very rare thing for her to do.

"Alu, how old are you?" she asked calmly.

Alu took in several heavy breaths of air before answering in a ridged voice, "Fourteen."

"I see." Aquarius sighed. "That's a tough age for humans, isn't it? You just want to strike out on your own. Prove that you can take care of yourself."

Alu removed her hand from her face and glared at Aquarius.

"So you're saying I'm just going through some prepubescent phase, just like everybody else?!" she snarled.

"No." Aquarius replied, narrowing her eyes sternly. "All I'm saying is that age is a factor. Trust me, I've been around enough Celestial Wizards throughout the last few centuries to know that. But I also get the feeling there's more to your frustration than you're telling me."

Alu frowned and glanced away. Aquarius didn't need to know Alu for as long as someone like Aries to know that she was on to something.

"You keep saying that you hate being weak." Aquarius went on. "Let me ask you, what is your definition of being weak?"

Alu paused and looked at Aquarius with a distrusting frown.

"I'm waiting." Aquarius droned irritably.

"Why do you even care about what I'm going through?!" Alu questioned harshly. "You never cared about me before!"

"Why do you always push people away?" Aquarius replied, ignoring Alu's last statement.

Alu fell silent again, and her expression changed to legitimately shocked. That was the last thing she was expecting to hear.

"I don't need to know you for a long time to know that." Aquarius stated. "When you can't think of anything to say, you either resort to fighting, or you just run away like you did now. And I bet you do this pretty often."

Alu swallowed hard and let out a deep breath of air. She kept her gaze away from the Celestial Spirit.

"Being weak to me is when you constantly lose," she answered sourly. "It's always relying on others to help you because you can't save yourself. It's being unable to help others when they need it. It's when you're the one who always has to be saved instead of doing the saving. And if you're a girl like me, then that means you're a damsel in distress, which is something I loathe the most."

"Hmph." Aquarius grunted. "That's what you define as weak?"

"Yes." Alu replied with certainty.

"You really are an idiot."

"What?!" Alu snapped her head up to scowl at Aquarius.

"You think it's weakness to rely on others?" Aquarius said. "C'mon, you might be a Dragon Slayer, but you're also a Celestial Wizard, too. And you should know that the main power of a Celestial Wizard is to call upon others to help. The core of that Magic is trust and friendship."

"You're one to talk!" Alu rebuked indignantly. "You threatened my mom and abandoned her multiple times, even when she needed you! Yeah, don't think she didn't tell me about that! So don't lecture me about friendship when you don't follow the same rules yourself!"

Aquarius narrowed her eyes in offense. Alu held that gaze with a scowl of her own. Normally, whenever Aquarius would stare someone down, they would back down.

But not Alu. She didn't even flinch. She stood her ground and held Aquarius's stare.

"You've got guts, kid, I'll give you that." Aquarius commented in a low voice. "Not even your father would stand up to me like that."

At the mention of Natsu, Alu gave a mild look of surprise. But she quickly changed it to another one of her brave faces.

"I'm not afraid to stand up to anyone." Alu answered. "And I don't run away from my problems."

"Yeah, I've noticed." Aquarius said dryly. "But that kind of attitude could get you killed. Just look where it got you with Ivan."

"Trust me," Alu brought one of her fists up, "next time I meet up with him, I'm gonna knock him down so hard he won't get up again."

"Oh, stop talking big and be honest with yourself, scruff munchkin." Aquarius frowned. "I've said it before; in your current state, you wouldn't stand a chance against him."

Alu held her breath with restrained irritation. For a second, it looked like she was going to lash out at the Celestial Spirit again. However, she simply let out her breath and looked at Aquarius with conviction in her eyes.

"So what?" she said in a low, sharp tone. "Having all the power that he has doesn't mean jack if you don't have the courage to fight your own battles. If there's one thing my dad taught me, it's that you never give up the fight, no matter how hard things get. He taught me to always stand my ground and fight for what's right. To stand up and fight for others, regardless of the consequences. That's what he taught me a long time ago, and I've never once forgot."

Aquarius raised and inquisitive eyebrow after hearing what Alu had to say. She was particularly interested by what Alu had said in her last few sentences. For as the girl said them, a kind of sparkle of admiration came into her eyes.

Aquarius then gave a small grin.

"I get it," she said. "I should've seen it before. This all goes back to your father, doesn't it? And I'm willing to guess that he's the one you see as a strong person."

Alu's expression softened just a bit into just a small frown. That was enough to tell Aquarius that she was had hit the nail on the head. Aquarius shrugged and sat down on the grass, stretching her tailfin out in front of her and leaning back on her hands. She turned her head up to the sky to look at the stars above.

"C'mon, I can tell just by looking at you," the Water Spirit said nonchalantly. "Ivan was right when he said the resemblance between the two of you is uncanny. Probably because you're both Dragneels. Clearly his genetics dominated your appearance."

Alu gave a sour frown. Aquarius pretended not to notice and just kept talking.

"And you seem to make an effort to mimic him, even if you don't realize it yourself. The way you dress makes it all the more obvious."

"Well, I hate wearing dresses." Alu grumbled irritably through her teeth. "It's asking people to look at your underwear."

Aquarius couldn't help but snicker. Alu certainly had a dry sense of humor.

"Then there's your hair.," the Water Spirit stated. "Aside from being pink, it's also just as spiky as your old man's. And I bet that you have it short and ruffled on purpose."

"What's wrong with that?" Alu said, just slightly insulted. "Short hair's easier to manage. Plus, it stays out of your face when you're fighting."

"Another common trait." Aquarius smirked, holding up her finger in a matter-of-fact way. "You have your father's love for fighting. You inherited a lot more than his looks, kid. Honestly, it's so obvious you're practically an open book to everyone."

"Yeah, whatever." Alu frowned. "I'm not exactly the greatest mystery in the world."

Upon that statement, Aquarius narrowed her eyes and her grin turned into a tight-lipped mouth. She then turned away for a second.

It was only when she heard Alu sit down next to her that she turned back to look at the sakura haired girl. Alu pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her expression had changed to one of deep thought.

It was now that Aquarius decided to ask another question.

"So, any particular reason?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you want to be like your father? You must have some reason."

Alu groaned uncomfortably, making a pouty face at the same time.

"Well," she said, "since you're so keen on picking my brain, I guess I can tell you."

Alu then raised her right hand and grabbed a couple strands of her pink hair. She looked at those strands as she stroked them with her thumb.

"Ever since I was little, everyone's always said I'm the spitting image of my dad," she explained. "I guess I just figured that if I looked so much like him, I needed to be just like him because I felt that's what everyone expected of me. But it's also more than that. It became my own path I wanted to pursue. And…I think it started with one event in particular."

Alu closed her eyes for a moment as she recalled a memory from deep in her past. The whole time, Aquarius watched and listened to the girl. Although she kept a face as expressionless as wooden, she was paying close attention.

Finally, Alu opened her eyes and turned to look up at the sky. Her expression was reminiscent.

"It was a long time ago," she said thoughtfully. "I think I was about four or five years old. Mom and Dad wanted to take me on a job to give me an idea of what guild missions were like. I remember it was just a simple job, and that it was in Hargeon. While my parents were talking to the client, Happy and I went to explore the town. We somehow got separated, and I ended wandering around. I didn't know it at the time, but apparently, there were some slave traders that were kidnapping children to sell in Basco. You can probably guess that they had kidnapped me, too. They took me to some building near that harbor where a bunch of other children were being held captive."

Alu curled her fingers around her arms a little tighter and trembled a little.

"I remember I was so scared," she went on, her voice lower than before. "I was scared of what they would do to me. Of never seeing Mom and Dad again. Of being taken away from Fairy Tail and all of my friends. And I was scared for the other children. When they were going to brand us, they grabbed a boy who was about the same age as me. Just seeing him struggling and kicking terrified me. But I guess it also made me take action. I don't know why, but I ran up and bit one of the guys holding the boy hostage. That turned their attention on me. It was then I thought I was really done for.

"But then…

* * *

 _Ten years ago…_

 _Alu kicked and screamed with furious passion, but the three large men had a tight hold on her, and she was just a child, small and terrified._

 _"So you want to get branded first?" the man in charge sneered. "Very well then. And don't worry, the pain won't last. Although the mark will remain there forever."_

 _Fear surged through Alu as that man came towards her with a burning hot branding stick. In just a matter of seconds, it would permanently burn her skin and mark her as a slave for the rest of her life. Once that happened, she would never see her family again._

 _Alu cried and cried uncontrollably. Tears poured from her eyes and down her cheeks. She wanted her mommy and daddy. She wanted them more than anything. She just wanted them here._

 _As one of the men move in to tear her shirt off, Alu lifted up her voice and screamed as loud as she could._

 _"DADDY! HELP ME!"_

 _A split second after that, the ceiling above suddenly burst open, causing large blocks of rubble to shower down into the warehouse. This made the men stop in shock, and the children scream and cry as they covered their heads with their arms to shield themselves. At the same time, something came flying down through the hole in the roof in a ball of fire._

 _"I HEARD YOU, ALU!" a male voice shouted with fury._

 _Before the kidnappers knew what was happen, each of them were immediately punched and kicked either in the face or stomach. The men that were holding Alu were forced to let go of her. Alu fell to the ground and grimaced as pain shot up through her side. She then snapped her head up to see what had happened, and her eyes widened in surprise._

 _Natsu was standing protectively in front of her._

 _"Daddy," she whispered tearfully._

 _He came. He really came. Her father came to save her._

 _And right now, Natsu was furious._

 _"So you're the scumbags who've been kidnapping children to sell as slaves?!" he growled viciously at the four men in front of him._

 _"Who the hell are you?!" the head kidnapper glared. "And what makes you think you can just burst in here like this?! It's none of your business!"_

 _"None of my business?!" Natsu clenched his fists, his scowl deepening. "You mean you kidnapping Alu and scaring her to death is none of my business?!"_

 _"Alu?" one of the men questioned._

 _"Who's he talking about?" another questioned._

 _And aura of flames suddenly emanated around Natsu in a blaze of wild anger._

 _"THERE'S A REALLY HEFTY PRICE FOR MAKIN' MY DAUGHTER CRY, YOU KNOW!" Natsu raged, his voice echoing through the warehouse._

 _It was at that moment that the head kidnapper noticed the red mark on Natsu's shoulder. His eyes darted back and forth between the Fire Wizard in front of him, and the little pink-haired girl shivering on the ground behind him. His face then grew deathly pale when he realized who was standing before him._

 _"S-Salamander?!" he stuttered. "Oh, t-that's your kid?!"_

 _Alu watched with fear and admiration as her father began to walk towards her kidnappers in a strong, steady stride. At the same time, the kidnappers began to back away from the enraged Dragon Slayer._

 _"W-We didn't know that was your kid!" one kidnapper lied._

 _"No, of course not!" another joined, his face painted with terror._

 _"Yeah, this is all just a misunderstanding!" the head kidnapper grinned nervously._

 _But Natsu wasn't buying it._

 _"I don't care if you punks knew or not!" he shouted. "You still kidnapped her!"_

 _Natsu then set out in a dead sprint towards the kidnappers, who all cowered in fear and were too afraid to move._

 _"ANYONE WHO HURTS MY FAMILY PAYS THE PRICE!" roared the Fire Dragon Slayer_

 _Summoning his Magic, Natsu channeled his power into his fists and released his anger and vengeance in the form of a powerful Fire Dragon Wing Attack. The attack sent all the kidnappers flying back and slamming into the walls of the building, and the fire from Natsu's attack burned each of them. They all laid on the ground, too stunned and terrified to get back up._

 _Seeing the threat gone, Natsu dismissed his Magic. However, he still kept his fists clenched, and his body tense with anger._

 _"My wife's coming with the town's military," he snarled. "So I'd stay down if I were you."_

 _From behind Natsu, all of the kidnapped children huddled together, staring at him with fear and terror. None of them had ever seen the power of a Dragon Slayer before. The raw power they had just witnessed from Natsu was enough to make them quiver and cry in fear. They were all so terrified of his power that they almost forgot to be grateful that he had saved them._

 _All expect for one._

 _"DADDY!"_

 _Upon hearing a familiar voice call out his name in a tearful cry, Natsu turned around quickly. His face immediately changed from a vengeful scowl to an intensely relieved expression. Alu was running clumsily towards him, crying and wailing. When she reached him, Natsu squatted down to her level and welcomed her into an embrace. Alu clutched handfuls of his jacket with all the strength she had and buried her face into the center of his abdomen. Natsu's arms, which were tense and ready to punch someone just seconds ago, quickly relaxed. They became loving and caring as he wrapped them around his precious daughter._

 _"Daddy!" Alu bawled. "Daddy! I-I was s-so scared! Those men! Th-They were going to h-hurt me! Th-They were going to t-take me away!"_

 _"It's okay, Alu." Natsu soothed, stroking his daughter's hair. "It's okay. Calm down. Daddy's here. I'm right here. You're safe now."_

 _Alu breathed shuddered breaths as she tried to calm herself down. She was slowly becoming less afraid as she held onto her father. His warmth, strength, and gentleness surrounded her, making feel secure. That feeling only increased when Natsu carried her up as he got to his feet. She wrapped her arms around his neck as far as they would go, clutched at his scarf, and nuzzled her face into the soft fabric._

 _"There, just take it easy." Natsu assured, rocking her slightly. "I've got you. It's over now. C'mon, let's go find Mommy."_

 _"Mommy." Alu whimpered. "I want Mommy."_

 _"I know. Let's go find her, then we can go home."_

 _"Okay."_

 _Natsu then turned back to the other children. Now that they had seen him handle Alu with care and love, they were less afraid of him now. And that fear subsided even more when he gave them all a genuine smile._

 _"C'mon, I'm here to take you all home, too," he said. "Your parents are worried about ya."_

 _With that, Natsu carried Alu in his arms as he left the warehouse with a bunch of children following close behind him. Alu eventually stopped sobbing and rested her head on her father's shoulder. But she never once loosened her grip on his scarf._

 _She hung onto her father like he was a lifeline._

* * *

 _Back to the present…_

"I might've been just a pipsqueak, but I remember that day like it happened just hours ago." Alu said, her tone low and serious. "And I remember two things I took away from it. One, I never wanted to feel helpless ever again. That fear of being weak; I never wanted to feel it again. I don't to be some damsel in distress. I hate being weak because it reminds me of how scared I was back then. But my dad, he wasn't afraid. He was strong and defended the weak. I wanted to just like that. I want to be just as strong as him. After all, I am his daughter. I want to live up to his reputation. But it's just no use. I'll never be like him. I'll always just the pathetic Weak Link of Fairy Tail."

Alu pulled her legs in even closer and lowered her head onto her knees. Her body deflated as she let out a defeated sigh.

Aquarius stared at Alu for a moment or two. Her expression wasn't scornful or annoyed. It was a kind sympathy that she didn't want to show too much.

Finally, Aquarius closed her eyes and let out a deep breath of air. She turned her gaze back up to the sky.

"That explains so much," she said, grinning slightly. "I can see why you would think of him as a hero. And I'll admit, from the time I knew him, he was pretty heroic, if not stupid for the most part."

Alu remained still. She didn't seem to have the will to speak out against that last comment.

"Although Alu," Aquarius went on, "you're a lot more like him than you think. You didn't hesitate to fight against Ivan to protect everyone back there. You even came back to help your friends, even when the odds were against you. And as far as I can tell, you're just as hard-headed as you're dad is."

"Hey!" Alu snapped, lifting her head off her knees to shoot Aquarius a nasty look.

Aquarius just gave a light chuckle at the reaction.

"Not to mention, you spazz out at the drop of a hat," the Water Spirit joked.

Alu deepened her scowled into a comically annoyed look.

Aquarius's expression softened, which surprised Alu.

"But also," Aquarius said, "you're like your mother in many ways, too."

"Huh?" Alu perked up, her eyes slightly wider. "My mom?"

"Yeah." Aquairus shrugged. "For one thing, you treat your Spirits like equals. And the way you teamed up with Aries is something that I could see Lucy doing. You're also very passionate about what you believe in. And if anyone gets in your way, you're not afraid to take them down."

Alu smirked at the last comment.

"But most of all," Aquarius went on, "you have a big heart, just like her. You may be a Dragneel, but you also have Heartfilla blood flowing through you. And while you have your father's eyes, you have your mother's face."

Alu smiled softly. Up until now, she didn't think she much in common with her mother. The only thing she knew she had in common with her was that she was Celestial Wizard, just like her. But some reason, hearing that she had some more common traits with Lucy made her feel a little prouder than before. Especially since they came from someone who had known her mother better than anyone else.

"You know that's the first time anyone's ever told me that." Alu said.

"Well, now you know." Aquarius simply stated.

"Thanks." Alu grinned.

Alu then gave a thoughtful frown.

"But why?" she asked. "Why are even telling me any of this? And why do suddenly care so much?"

Aquarius didn't answer. Alu watched with a keen eye as Aquarius bit her lips and lowered her head. It was like she trying to find the right words to say in regards to the question presented to her.

Finally, Aquarius took a deep breath.

"Because you're just like someone I once knew," she muttered.

Alu blinked. She wasn't expecting that answer.

But before Alu could press the matter any further, Aquarius moved up from her spot.

"C'mon, we better get back," she said casually. "It's late, I'm tired, and we have a long journey tomorrow. Besides, don't want the others to think that we've killed each other now do we."

"I…guess not." Alu hesitated.

Normally, Alu wouldn't argued about leaving the conversation hanging the way it was. However, by this point, she was starting to feel very exhausted. She just wanted to lie down and go to sleep.

Without resistance, Alu got up from her spot and walked back the camping sight with Aquarius beside her.

As the came upon their destination, they saw that the others had already laid out their blankets and were preparing to settle down for the night.

A little way off, just on the edge of the forest opposite of where Alu and Aquarius entered, Aries and Sorano stood facing one another. Alu was too tired to make out what the two were talking about, but she could just barely see a look of regret in Sorano's face, and Aries had a sympathetic expression. After Sorano finished speaking, Aries gave a gentle smile and said something that made the white-haired wizard look up at her with mild shock. Aries then stuck out her right hand to offer a hand-shake. Sorano graciously accepted it, and the two shook hands.

Alu didn't know what was going on between the two of them, but she was a little to tired too care too much about it.

* * *

About half an hour later, Alu was lying flat on her back, staring up at the night sky above her. All around her, her companions slept soundly.

As exhausted as Alu was, she had a harder time falling asleep than she thought she would. It wasn't just because the events of the night had left her with some things to think. Although that was a small factor.

Alu turned her head to look at Aquarius. She was about several feet away from the Water Spirit, and it looked like the Spirit was having a better time sleeping than the wizard.

"What's with her?" Alu whispered to herself. "She's not the moody Spirit Mom told me about. At least not completely anyway. I thought for sure she was going to start another fight with me back there. Oh, well. Maybe I'm looking too far into this."

Alu then looked back up at the sky as her mind drifted to another topic. One that was giving her the most torment.

It was about her parents. She figured that this was bother her so much was because she was thinking about Ivan threatening to steal her father's soul. After all, it was only then that she started to worry about her father again. And especially after those conversations about her parents she had with Aquarius, Alu couldn't stop her mind from drifting back to them.

Alu didn't quite know why, but she suddenly found herself missing them. Although this wasn't the first time she had been away from them for an extended period of time, Alu seemed to be missing them more than she did in the past. Probably because of the circumstances surrounding Ivan and his plans.

Alu was now wishing that her father and mother were here with her. At least that way, she would know that they were safe.

She also couldn't help but wonder where they were right now. Chances were that they were camping out somewhere, looking up at the same sky she was looking up at. And that they were watching all of the stars sparkle brightly in that endless void.

As Alu looked up at the stars, gazing at their bright lights.

"Bright starlight," she whispered softly.

Seeing all those points of light amidst the vast darkness reminded Alu of a song. It was one that her parents used to sing to her when she was very small. Whenever she was scared, had woken up from a nightmare, or was feeling hopeless, one of them would sing this song to her. It was one of her favorite songs, and it always lifted her spirits whenever she she needed assurance.

She remembered it being sung to her after the kidnapping incident. The time it was sung to her then reminded her that she was home. She was safe, loved, and protected.

It always told her that.

Soon, Alu began to hum the melody to herself.

* * *

Natsu, still awake and sitting down at the base of the same tree he had been leaning up against before, looked down at his wife. Lucy had fallen asleep earlier, snuggling up next to him for warmth and comfort. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the soothing lullaby of his heartbeat. He had wrapped his scarf around the two of them, and now held her in a loving embrace as she slept against him. He couldn't help but smile at her as she breathed softly and peacefully.

"At least I know you're safe," he whispered gently to his wife.

He gave her a small kiss in her golden hair, letting her lovely scent reach up through his nose and fill him with a warmth that his fire couldn't give him.

Natsu then turned his head back up to the sky. He stared up at the stars as he thought of Alu. He was hoping that she was at least safe out there. Maybe she was even looking up at the sky like he was. His daughter might be a long way from him, but at least they were under the same sky. They were being watched over by the same stars.

That alone was a comforting thought.

As he stared up at the twinkling stars, Natsu began to remember a song that Lucy used to sing to Alu when she was little. Although Natsu wasn't one for having the best memory in the world, he could remember that lullaby as clear as a bell. It just had the kind of melody that made it impossible for him to forget. He even sang it to Alu a few times when Lucy had been called away on missions for the Guild. Natsu wasn't really big on singing, but this song, when sung to Alu, was the exception.

Back then, Alu used to get horrible nightmares that woke her up in panic. But this song always managed to calm her down.

And just humming it made Natsu feel calmer, too.

* * *

What neither Natsu or Alu knew was that they were both humming the same song at the same time. Soon, they both went from humming to singing it softly. Their voices, if they were singing it side-by-side, would've been in perfect harmony.

For this moment, they sung it together in spirit.

* * *

 _"_ _When the darkness falls and it casts out the sky,_

 _I'll be a bright starlight to guide you home,_

 _You are not alone._

 _Though it's like all hope is gone inside,_

 _I'll be a bright starlight to let you know_

 _You are not alone._ _"_

* * *

When Alu had finished singing, she gave a small smile. That lullaby from her childhood had once again refreshed her soul. It was one of the things that kept her close to her family, even if was only in metaphorical way.

Finally, exhaustion took over and Alu rolled onto her side. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

At the same time, Natsu finally allowed himself to give into his fatigue. Resting his head on Lucy's, holding her close, and fell asleep.


	23. Chapter 23: The Ransom

**Chapter 23**

 **The Ransom**

 _"Okay, so what are you gonna do now?_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"What are you gonna do about Agnar?"_

 _"I…I want to stop him. If he keeps this up, then Earth Land will be destroyed."_

 _"You don't have to put yourself through this. You can just stay here. And if you're worried about Anna, you know she can stay here, too. You'll both be safe here. You know that the Dragon Slayers are being hunted down and executed now. And you're most likely at the top of the list. So why? Why would you put yourself through all this? Haven't you endured enough?"_

 _"I…I honestly don't know how to answer that. But…I can't quit. And I can't just run away. I can't just let Earth Land be destroyed. I can't."_

* * *

"I can't…I can't…"

"Alu, wake up!"

Alu was awakened by the feeling of a strong hand shaking her shoulder. Her eyes snapped opened immediately and she gasped for air. She laid flat on her back, staring straight up at the rosy-blue sky above with a frightened expression on her face.

"Are you okay?"

Alu glanced over to the person the voice belonged to and saw Eagle leaning over her. The concern in his eyes were clear to see.

"Eagle?" Alu blinked.

It was then that Alu became aware that there was something wet on her face. Not to mention, her vision was blurry with salty liquid. As Alu sat up, she brought her right hand up to her face and touched underneath her eyes. When she lowered her hand to examine what was on it, she became both shocked and confused.

"Tears?"

"You must've been having a bad dream." Eagle said.

"Or I must be going insane," Alu sighed, wiping the rest of the tears from her face as quickly as she could. "It's just…I don't know. Never mind, it's not important. So, is everyone up?"

"Yeah, but…we have a problem."

"What do you mean?"

Eagle looked over his shoulder and Alu followed his gaze.

What she saw made her inhale deeply in alarm.

Rogue, the two Exceeds, and the rest of Crime Sorciére were all up and about. Jellal, Rogue, and Frosch were busy rolling up the blankets the group had used to sleep on the night before. Sorano and Violet were busy making a quick breakfast for everyone.

However, it was what Meldy was doing that caught Alu's attention. She was trying her best to help Aquarius and Aries. Just by one glance, Alu could tell that something was wrong with the Celestial Spirits.

Both Aries and Aquarius had a sickly appearance in their eyes, and they seemed to have a hard time getting up and moving on their own. What they did manage to do on their own seemed to cost them a lot of effort. Meldy was almost carrying them over to the logs near the fire pit so that they could sit down.

Upon seeing that, Alu immediately scrambled to her feet and ran over to them.

"Aries, what's wrong?" Alu asked concerned.

"That fight yesterday," Aries replied weakly, "it took a lot out of Aquarius and I. We exhausted a lot of our power, and our life forces were weakened, too."

"Don't you have any more Astral Elixir?" Alu said. "That should restore your energy."

Aries nodded in agreement and slowly opened her hip pouch. However, when she reached in to grab the vials, she let out a small shriek and yanked her hand out. She brought her finger up to her mouth stuck it in.

"Aries!" Alu exclaimed.

Aries gave a worried expression before opening up her pouch again. This time, she opened it wider so that Alu could see inside as well.

Alu became even more concerned when she saw inside the pouch. The last two glass vials that contained the Astral Elixir were shattered. All that was left was small sharp pieces of glass, and only droplets of the Elixir.

They must have broken last night during the fight with Ivan and his Neo Spirits last night.

"That's not good." Alu mumbled.

"What's wrong, Alu?" Meldy asked, helping Aquarius sit down.

"The vials for the Elixir are broken." Alu explained. "And those were the last ones for both Aries and Aquarius."

Alu then turned to her vest and tore of a small piece of the left side. She stopped only for a moment when she realized that there was a larger tear in the corner. She blinked when she remembered that Neo Ophiuchus pierced there when she attacked her last night. She figured that the Dark Snake Charmer Spirit must've torn a piece off when that happened.

Alu just shrugged, immediately disregarding it and turning her attention back to Aries. It was just a vest, nothing to be too concerned about.

Aries removed her finger from her mouth to reveal that it had been cut. Already, it was bleeding out white-colored blood.

Alu wasn't really someone who become squeamish at the sight of blood. She had been in enough brawls to have gotten used to a couple of scrapes and scratches that would result in bleeding crimson blood.

But when she saw Aries white, almost-glowing white blood, she froze and her eyes widened in shock.

Alu then gripped her head and shut her eyes for a second, groaning in discomfort.

"Alu!" Eagle exclaimed, rushing to his friend's side.

Alu almost doubled over and gripped her head even tighter. Just the sight of that kind of blood made her head hurt, but not in a natural way. It was more like something from deep in her memories was trying to come forward in a desperate effort to be remembered.

For a second, Alu felt as if her conscious had left her body. The world around her vanished and changed into something different.

* * *

 _Alu was surrounded by a deep red substance. It was flowing strong like the ocean. At the same time, there was a deep, pulsing sound that echoed all around her._

 _Just then, something from up ahead came flooding towards her. Alu stared as a white substance made its way towards her. The red substance absorbed it, making it give this kind of illusion of glittering. The pulsing sound grew stronger and began to accelerate._

 _Suddenly, Alu felt a strange and painful sensation. It was like every single blood vessel in her body instantly caught fire and was burning her from the inside. Her heart hammered in her chest so hard that she felt like it was going to explode. She couldn't help it; she began to scream and cry._

 _Then, above her own cries, there a deep, strong roar. It was the strongest roar that Alu had ever heard in her life. It resonated deeply within her, making every single fiber of her being tremble._

 _Then, almost as quickly as it had come, the sensation stopped._

* * *

"ALU!"

Alu's eyes snapped open and she gasped for air. She blinked a few times and panted heavily. Somehow, she had managed to stay on her feet.

"What was that?" she whispered to herself.

"Alu, are okay?" Rogue asked, worried.

Alu looked up to see everyone had crowded around her. Each of them had a startled expression on their face, and those expressions were directed at her. This made Alu very uncomfortable.

"I…I think so," she answered, swallowing hard.

"You sure?" Sorano asked. "You looked like you were going to have a seizure."

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Alu lied. "Don't worry about me, okay?"

Alu turned her attention back to Aries. She wrapped the small piece of cloth around her friend's bleeding finger, tying a secure knot so that it wouldn't come undone.

The whole time she did, Aries looked at Alu with an almost scared expression. She then looked at Aquarius, who looked back at her with a strong glint in her eyes. The Water Spirit stared straight back at the Golden Ram Spirit and slowly shook her head.

Even though the gesture was small and meant to be unnoticeable to everyone else, Violet's observant eyes managed to catch it.

"What do we do?" Aries whimpered. "The Celestial Spirit King didn't anticipate this, and Aquarius and I can't return to the Celestial World until her key is repaired."

"Isn't obvious?" Aquarius said bluntly. "We have to get to the Valley of Gates repair my key. Once we do that, Aries and I will be able to go back to the Celestial World."

"Agreed." Alu nodded. "We should get moving. The sooner we get there and repair the key; the sooner we can get you guys back."

"I'll come with you." Violet volunteered. "I can support someone with my Aera Magic if you need me to."

"Thanks, Violet." Alu replied.

"Frosch and I will accompany you as well." Rogue said as he began to gather up his things.

"As will we." Jellal replied.

"No." Alu refused. "You guys have to find my dad and warn him about Ivan. If he's going after First Generation Dragon Slayers, then my dad, Wendy, and Gajeel are in grave danger."

"But we can't just leave you out here alone." Rogue protested. "What would we say to you parents?"

"Tell them not to worry." Alu answered firmly. "I got my Magic back, so I can summon one of my Spirits if I need to. Plus, I got an upgrade in my Dragon Slayer Magic thanks to Aquarius. I'll be fine."

"Besides," Aquarius interjected, "only Celestial Wizards and Spirits can enter the Valley of Gates. Alu may be a Dragon Slayer, but she's a Celestial Wizard, too. Only she, Aries, and I can enter the Valley."

"Couldn't we just wait outside the Valley?" Meldy said. "With all do respect, you don't know if Ivan is going to come after you again. He might be after your father, but I'm willing to bet that he's going to go after you to use as a bargaining chip."

"Meldy's right." Jellal replied. "We can't just let you go on your own."

"I won't be alone." Alu protested. "I can summon other Spirits if I need to, and Violet will be with me, too. And you need to warn the others about Ivan. Just tell my mom and dad that I had something I needed to take care of. Tell them I'm safe and I'll be back soon. Just don't tell them the reason I'm out here. I want it to be a surprise. Please."

The wizards all looked at Alu for a moment. Alu could tell by the glint in their eyes that none of them were comfortable with the little Fairy Tail wizard going off on her own with two weary Spirits, especially since they now knew that a madman was out there on the loose. Not to mention, a madman that had it out for anyone in Fairy Tail.

Given that much, it was understandable why Rogue, Jellal, and the other wizards were hesitant to let Alu go alone. But none of them could ignore that fiery look in her eyes. Eagle aside, they all had seen that look before. Especially Rogue and Jellal. Only it was in Natsu's eyes.

Natsu had passed his fire onto Alu. No doubt about that.

Jellal couldn't help but grin. Alu was definitely Natsu's daughter in just about every way. She wasn't going to give up on her idea no matter what.

Still, he couldn't just let her go.

"Tell you what, Alu," Jellal said with authority, "not all of us need to pass this message along to your parents. And we can't leave you out here alone. As of now, you are under Crime Sorciére's protection. So, we'll escort you to the Valley of Gates."

"But…" Alu started to protest.

"Don't worry, Alu." Rogue interrupted. "Frosch and I will give Natsu and Lucy your message. I need to return to Sabertooth anyway to tell Sting and the others about Ivan. Just promise me you'll be careful and that you'll return to Fairy Tail as soon as you've completed your mission."

Alus just sighed.

"Okay fine," she shrugged. "Guess I don't have much of a choice. Besides, the more the merrier, right?"

"Then it's settled." Eagle said, clapping his hands together. "Now, let's all have some breakfast. It's not wise to travel on an empty stomach."

"Good call," Sorano said, "porridge is ready."

After they finished their breakfast, and after they said their good-byes, Alu, Aries, Aquarius, Violet, and Crime Sorciére left for the Valley of Gates, while Rogue and Frosch left to find the Fairy Tail search party.

As they traveled, Alu did her best to support Aquarius, while Jellal carried Aries on his back. There was not much anyone could do at this point. Not even Eagle's Arc of Time Magic could help the Spirits. Their only option was to get the Valley of Gates before it was too late.

They were racing against the clock now. They just had to keep going.

* * *

 _Two hours later, back in the forest…_

After a quick breakfast; and after Wendy, Carla, and Romeo joined up with the group; Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Gajeel all set out on their search once again.

No one spoke a word to each other as they walked through the forest, keeping their sense on alert for any sign of Alu.

Natsu walked ahead of the group with a constant expression of determination. He had made up his mind that he was going to find Alu today no matter what. And if she tried to run away again, he wouldn't let her go like he did in Onibus. She was coming home, even if he had to use force to bring her back. He didn't want to get forceful, but he wasn't going to let Alu go again.

After some time, Natsu sensed something and sniffed the air again. He came to a halt and stuck his arm out, indicating to everyone else to stop as well.

"What is it, Natsu?" Lucy asked. "Do you sense something?"

"Yeah, but it's not a threat." Natsu answered.

Natsu pointed up ahead. A figure stepped out of the trees. It was a Sabertooth wizard, one the Fairy Tail wizards knew particularly well.

"Rogue." Erza said with surprise.

The Shadow Dragon Slayer nodded.

"Hello everyone," he said calmly. "I had a feeling it was you."

"I did, too." Frosch waved happily, flying up beside Rogue.

"What are you two doing out here?" Wendy asked.

Rogue's face hardened into a small scowl.

"Yukino was attacked," he explained bitterly. "I've been looking for her assailant."

Everyone looked at each other with sympathetic expressions.

"Rogue," Lucy said softly, "we know about what happened to Yukino."

"You do?" Rogue blinked, slightly surprised.

"We ran into Sting, Lector, and Minerva yesterday." Happy explained. "They told us what happened. We're so sorry."

"I see." Rogue replied solemnly. "Well, thank you all the same."

There was a small silence. Then Rogue cleared his throat.

"Now, I've got some good news, some bad news, and worst news."

This got everyone's attention again.

"The good news is that I found out who did it. That bad news is…"

Rogue hesitated. Natsu stared with anticipation. He was even more defensive now than before.

Finally, Rogue took a deep breath.

"It's Ivan Dreyer," he said darkly. "He's back. And he's out for revenge on Fairy Tail. He had somehow learned Curse Power and took Yukino's soul for himself."

All the Fairy Tail wizards jolted in horrified shock. A wave of cold fear rushed through them, feeling like it had just frozen their hearts.

Ivan was back? After all these years, he's striking back again?

Rogue was not one to tell a lie, especially in a situation like this.

They knew it was true, but they couldn't believe it.

Ivan was back again.

And if he had stolen Yukino's soul, something that could only be done by Curse Power, then that meant he was even more serious about destroying Fairy Tail than he was before. If they had thought he and his guild, Raven Tail, were dangerous back then, goodness knows how dangerous he was now. Probably ten times more than ever.

"But why?" Wendy asked, shaken. "Why would he do that?"

Rogue closed his eyes.

"That's where the worst news comes in," he said gravely. "He's combined the Celestial Magic of Yukino's soul with his Shikigami Magic and created his own set of Zodiac Spirits."

Natsu swallowed hard when he heard that.

"But he's not stopping there." Rogue continued, opening his eyes. "He's now after the First Generation Dragon Slayers of Fairy Tail. Meaning, he's after one of you: Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy."

Once again, everyone froze at the news.

"He's after us?" Wendy shuddered. "But why? What does he want?"

"I don't quite know." Rogue explained. "All I could gather when I encountered him is that he's trying to complete a kind of Spell that would make him into a Celestial Dragon Slayer."

"Celestial Dragon Slayer?" Romeo questioned, trying to hide the fact he was disturbed by the news. "I've never heard of that one."

"Neither have I." Gajeel grumbled. "At least, it doesn't really sound familiar."

"Well, that's Ivan said he was trying to become." Rogue replied. "And he's trying to do it by taking the souls of a Celestial Wizard and Dragon Slayer. So far, he's tapped into Yukino's soul and has abused her power. As I told you, he's created his own Zodiac Spirits. And from what I've seen, they're strong."

Natsu scowled.

"That's just wrong!" he growled furiously. "He's going to pay for this! If it's a fight he wants, then I'll make sure that he gets one!"

"Calm yourself, Natsu." Rogue said. "Believe me, I'm just as angry as you are, but Ivan is stronger now than he was back then. His Neo Zodiac Spirits are certainly a force to be reckoned with, and he's mastered that Soul Stealing Curse."

"I think so, too." Frosch moaned. "If Alu hadn't been there, Rogue would've been badly hurt."

"Alu?!" Natsu and Lucy gasped at the same time.

"Are you saying that you found Alu last night?!" Lucy asked anxiously.

Rogue turned to Natsu and Lucy and nodded.

The next thing he knew, Natsu had grabbed hold of his cape and was soon up in his face with a frantic scowl.

"WHERE'S ALU?!" Natsu yelled. "WHY ISN'T SHE WITH YOU?! DID IVAN KIDNAP HER?!"

"Let me go and I'll explain!" Rogue shouted defensively. "I can this much: she's fine!"

Natsu gave a surprised expression. Slowly, he loosened his grip on Rogue's cape and let go. He then stepped back, stiffly. Rogue took a second to regain his composure.

"I found Alu fighting Ivan last night." he said calmly, completely aware of the distress in the air. "I managed to rescue her and we fought Ivan to a standstill." He then turned to Erza. "Some of Crime Sorciére also came to help us. Two of them being your husband and son, Erza. And don't worry, they're both doing well."

Erza's face seemed to light up when she heard that news. She brought a hand up to her heart and sighed with relief.

"But why isn't Alu with you now?" Gray asked. "Didn't she tell you that she ran away from home? I thought you of all people would stop her."

Rogue turned to Gray, showing he was perplexed by the Ice Wizard's statement.

"What are talking about?" Rogue questioned. "She didn't run away."

"What?" Erza asked, voicing what everyone was thinking.

"She didn't run away." Rogue repeated. "I can't tell you what she's doing because she made promise not to. But let's just say that she's on a special mission. As for what she's doing, she wants it to be a surprise. But she did ask me to tell you that she's safe, Crime Sorciére is with her, and she'll be coming home soon."

Silence.

"So then…" Lucy exhaled deeply. "Alu never ran away in the first place."

"Well, at least that's good news." Erza smiled warmly.

The others in the group all nodded in agreement. This was the best news they heard all day. Happy let out a small laughter. Wendy and Romeo looked at each other and smiled. Gajeel just folded his arms across his chest and lowered his head, grinning. Lucy clasped her hands together and brought them up to her mouth, smiling happily.

Natsu lowered his head, covering his eyes in the shadow of his bangs. He had felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Alu hadn't run away after all. He didn't know what she was up to, but at least he knew that she didn't run away simply out of spite or anger. And if there was one thing he knew about his daughter, while she might be a bit of a prankster and a trouble-maker, she wasn't a liar. If she said she didn't run away and that she was on a personal mission, then he knew it was true.

And while the news about Ivan still made him wary, as long as Jellal and his guild were with her, then Natsu had faith that Alu was safe for the time being.

"Thank goodness," he whispered under his breath.

However, Natsu's mood changed quicker than it took to blink. He whipped around violently to reveal a very, very angry expression.

"WHERE'S ASH?!" he roared. "I'M GONNA TURN HIM INTO HIS NAME!"

Gray immediately stepped forward defensively.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Don't blame my son for this! That little terror of yours is the one who ran off without telling anyone!"

"ASH WAS THE ONE WHO _SAID_ SHE RAN AWAY!" Natsu shot back fiercely.

Gray grabbed Natsu by the collar of his jacket and raised his other fist, readying himself to strike.

"ASH JUST SAID SHE _THOUGHT_ ABOUT RUNNING AWAY, FLAME FOR BRAINS!" Gray bellowed. "ALU RAN OFF AND LEFT US IN A STATE OF PANIC! DON'T TAKE IT OUT ON MY SON! BLAME FAIRY TAIL'S RESIDENT TERROR, ALU DRAGNEEL!"

Natsu landed a punch on Gray's face. It wasn't long before those two were fighting. In a matter of seconds, they were slugging each other with cheap-shots, pulling each other's hair, kneeing and kicking each other in the stomach, and decking each other when they got the chance.

Everyone else just stepped back and watched with painful expressions. They saw this fight coming from a mile away.

Eventually, Erza moved in when she saw an opening and grabbed Natsu and Gray by one of their ears, twisting them as she did. This defiantly made the two men stop brawling. Instead, they started whining in pain.

"That's enough, you two." Erza commanded. "Now that we know Alu's real reason for leaving, we should get back to looking for her. I know she's with Crime Sorciére, but still. It would be best for us to find them in case Ivan decides to strike back again."

Natsu and Gray exchanged only one more glare with each other before complying. Erza let the two them go and walked over to Rogue.

"I thank you for your help, Rogue," she said gratefully. "And I thank you for warning us about Ivan. Now that we know he's behind all this, we might have a better chance at defeating him."

Rogue nodded in agreement. He was about to speak again when a sharp sound of a raven came from high above them.

Everyone snapped their heads up and saw a black raven circling through an opening in the tree branches just above them. As Natsu looked closer, he noticed that there was something in the raven's beak. It looked like a piece of paper with a purple cloth tied to it. The moment he noticed this, the raven's eye moved and looked down at him, like it had sensed the Dragon Slayer had seen it. It dropped the piece of paper right over Natsu and flew away.

Natsu reached up caught the paper with one hand. He lowered his arm to examine the piece of paper more closely.

"What was that?" Romeo asked, confused.

"It looked like a raven." Wendy said. "But what was it doing here?"

"That was one of Ivan's ravens." Gajeel answered grimly. "He used to send me messages by raven back when I was a double agent. He's probably sending us a warning since he figures we're onto him."

"But why would he do that?" Erza questioned. "He doesn't seem like the kind of person to just send random threats.

"Huh, what's wrong, Natsu?" Happy asked.

Everyone turned to look at Natsu, and immediately became concerned.

Natsu had gone very quiet. His eyes had widened and he felt a twinge of fear spike up inside him as he looked at the rolled-up piece of paper.

Attached to the paper was a corner piece of a purple cloth. And on the edge of the cloth was gold lining. On top of that, a familiar scent was coming off of it.

The scent of vanilla and mahogany.

Alu's scent!

Natsu quickly removed the cloth and handed it to Lucy.

"Wait!" Lucy exclaimed, gripping the piece of fabric. "This is from Alu's vest!"

Natsu's hands began to shake as he unfolded the message. He swallowed back his panic and began to read it intently. The message was handwritten in fast, sharp lettering, like the person who wrote it had been in a hurry.

"What does it say, Natsu?" Happy asked, sounding a little worried.

What was written on the paper made Natsu's face go pale, and his eyes wide even more with distress.

 _Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail,_

 _I captured your daughter. If you want to see her alive again, come to Sacred Mount Zonia, alone, by sunset today. Failure to meet the demands, and your daughter will die a slow and painful death._

 _Ivan Dreyer_

After reading that message, Natsu's face changed to frightening scowl. He growled savagely and tightened his grip on the letter, threatening to tear it in two.

"That bastard!" he snarled in a low voice. "He's kidnapped Alu!"

"No!" Lucy gasped in horror. "You mean Ivan's got Alu?!"

"And he's using her as a bargaining chip!" Natsu raised his voice dangerously. "He wants me to come to Mount Zonia alone and get there by sunset! If I don't, he'll kill her!"

Everyone stared worriedly at Natsu's news.

Natsu angrily crumbled up the piece of paper, set it on fire with his Magic, and threw it to the ground. He then stomped down on it like he wanted to slay it. The paper's flames went out, leaving behind nothing but a pile of ashes.

Rogue's stared in alarm. Was that true? Did Ivan really kidnap Alu?

"That can't be possible!" he rebuked suddenly. "There's no way he could've kidnapped Alu! Not with Jellal and his guild with her! I mean, Ivan might have gotten stronger, but Jellal and the others aren't pushovers either!"

"But didn't Ivan nearly drain your souls?" Frosch pointed out hesitantly. "I thought Alu had to save you from his Curse."

Rogue fell silent at that remark, unable to deny the fact. That alone was enough to raise the concern factor in the group even more.

"Still, it's most likely a trick." Wendy said, trying to sound hopeful while hiding her fear. "It's gotta be, right?"

"I'm not so sure." Carla replied, sounding unsure. "As much as I want to believe that, there's no way of knowing if Ivan's just bluffing or not. I'm afraid even my clairvoyance can't really help at this point."

"Then what do we do?" Romeo said, concerned.

For a moment, no one spoke. They were each going over a plan of action in their minds. However, since they were all jostled and disturbed by the message, they couldn't think clearly.

Only Natsu had decided on what he had to do. There was no doubt whatsoever.

"Gajeel," he spoke up in a deep voice, "you know where Mount Zonia is. How do I get there from here?"

"Natsu," Erza spoke up firmly, "you can't seriously be thinking of giving yourself up. It's a trap and you know it. And Rogue is right, you know that Crime Sorciére is strong. I don't believe that Ivan could easily kidnap Alu."

Natsu turned to look at everyone. There was no mistaking that look of conviction in his eyes.

"Would you say the same thing if it was Eagle?" he asked harshly. "Would you gamble your son's life on the assumption that this ransom is just a bluff?"

Erza opened her mouth to answer, but then fell silent. She didn't need to answer that question verbally. Everyone already knew that there would be no way she would gamble her son's life on an assumption like that.

"Or what about you, Gray, Gajeel?" Natsu continued. "What if it were any of your kids? What would you do?"

Both Gray and Gajeel hesitated, mostly because they didn't expect to be asked that question. However, they quickly came to their conclusions.

"I'd go after them, of course." Gray answered with certainty.

"See?" Natsu said. "I'm the one that Ivan wants here. And I'm not about to risk Alu's life by wasting time or thinking that this is a trick. That's too high of gamble for me. I'm going to meet Ivan's demands, whether he really has Alu or not. But I'm not going to just give myself up either. I'm gonna fight him. And I'm gonna get Alu back in one piece."

"Natsu," Lucy whispered, showing that she was afraid for the safety of her family.

Natsu sensed her fear and turned to face her completely. He grabbed her shoulders reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Lucy," he said in as calm of a voice as he could. "I'll get Alu back."

Lucy slowly nodded, swallowing hard.

Natsu, still holding onto Lucy, turned back to the others.

"You guys leave this to me," he ordered. "Just get back to Fairy Tail and tell Gramps and Laxus what's going on."

Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Wendy, Carla, and Romeo all hesitated for a moment. Finally, they all nodded in agreement.

"Rogue, you and Frosch get back to your guild and tell them everything you know. I hate to admit this, but I have a feeling that we'll be needing Sabertooth's help."

"Right." Rogue said strongly.

Natsu then turned back to Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer sighed heavily before pointing northeast.

"Zonia is a few miles that way," he stated. "If you keep walking all day, you should get there by sunset. Just be careful, Salamander. I don't need to remind you of how dangerous Ivan is."

"Sure thing." Natsu nodded.

"Let me come with you, Natsu." Happy begged, hovering beside the Dragon Slayer. "Please, let me help. I can get you there faster if we fly."

Natsu frowned slightly and shook his head. He then petted the little Exceed's head.

"I'm sorry, buddy," he said. "But I can't risk any member of my family on this. Ivan wants me to come alone, and that's what I'm going to do. I need you to take care of Lucy."

Happy frowned sadly before nodding in agreement. Natsu then turned back to Lucy, who was still looking at him with dread in her eyes.

"Lucy, I promise you I'll be fine." Natsu assured. "I'll just get in there, get Alu, and get out. And I'll bring Alu back alive."

"Just come back safe and sound, both of you." Lucy pleaded, grabbing his arms. "I know you're strong and I have faith in you, but we don't know how much stronger Ivan's gotten. Fight him if you have to, but please, don't overdo it."

"I won't, I swear."

"Okay, then." Lucy nodded. "I trust you. But if you and Alu aren't back by tomorrow morning, then I'm coming after you."

Natsu acknowledged Lucy's statement. Although he didn't want to put her in harm's way, he also knew that there was no way he would talk her out of that promise. She'd come to save him no matter what the danger might be. She always did.

Natsu then brought his face closer to Lucy's, and the two shared a farewell kiss. They both hoped that this wouldn't be their last kiss ever. Natsu then pulled away, took in a deep breath, and the two of them let go of each other.

Without any more hesitation, Natsu immediately set out running towards the northeast, disappearing into the forest.

Although it wasn't even quite noon yet, Natsu couldn't help but feel like he didn't have much time. Just hearing that Alu was in the clutches of Ivan, one of the vilest men Natsu had ever met in his life, made his paternal instincts kick into overdrive and more. This was way different than the other times he had gone after Alu when she ran off on solo jobs. This time, Natsu was certain that Alu's life was in grave danger. He had to get to her fast.

He had no idea what he was going to do when he got to Mount Zonia, but that didn't matter to him. The only thing he focused on was getting there before it was too late.

"Just hang on, Alu!" he said to himself. "I'm on my way!"


	24. Chapter 24: The Valley of Gates

**Chapter 24**

 **The Valley of Gates**

 _Somewhere further east…_

The midday sun disappeared behind a large cluster of white clouds as Alu and her group made their way across a barren plain. A strange fog began to roll in, making the air feel humid and heavy. Alu couldn't quite explain it, but something about this fog felt different. It felt like it was some kind of physical presence.

"We should be getting closer." Alu said. "I don't know why, but I feel like we're almost there."

"I gotta say, scruff munchkin," Aquarius exhaled, her voice heavy with weariness, "I'm actually amazed you got so much stamina."

"I can't sit still for very long." Alu replied nonchalantly. "I've always been energetic. That, and Dad put me through many kinds of training: from cardio to martial arts."

"That explains so much." Aquarius said sarcastically.

"I just hope we get to this Valley of Gates soon." Sorano moaned. "My feet are starting to kill me."

"Just be grateful we haven't run into any trouble yet." Eagle said bluntly, in a way that reminded Alu of Erza. "Let's just hope it stays that way. I'd like to think that we lost Ivan for good."

"Don't let your guard down, Son." Jellal said. "We can't afford to be taken by surprise, especially with two Celestial Spirits in critical condition."

"Don't worry about us." Aquarius groaned. "Us Spirits are made of sterner stuff."

Alu cast her gaze down at the ground and sighed pensively.

At the mention of Ivan, Alu remembered the events that transpired last night. It also reminded her of a thought that had been agonizing her for a while.

Ivan said that he wanted to become a Celestial Dragon Slayer, and Neo Virgo said that Alu was also a Celestial Dragon Slayer. This made a dozen questions race through Alu's mind.

What did Neo Virgo mean by that? Why was Ivan so bent on becoming this Dragon Slayer? What was a Celestial Dragon Slayer anyway?

As Alu thought of that question, she looked over at Aquarius and Aries. As she stared at them, she soon realized that they started acting weird the moment they found out that Ivan about Ivan's plans.

Aries had become more overprotective than usual, and Aquarius lashed out violently when Ivan revealed his plan; saying that he wasn't "worthy of that power".

Maybe they did know something about this.

After all, if a Celestial Dragon Slayer is connected to Celestial Wizards, then maybe Celestials Spirits know something, too. It certainly wouldn't surprise Alu if they did.

Violet, who was flying beside Alu, noticed the girl's troubled vibe and became concerned.

"Something wrong, Alu?" she asked.

"Not really," Alu answered thoughtfully, "It's just…"

Alu hesitated for a second. Finally, she took a deep breath and settled on her plan.

"Hey, Aquarius, Aries, I've been thinking about something."

Aquarius looked over that the girl who was helping her. Aries lifted her head off of Jellal's back and turned her head tiredly.

"Ivan kept saying that he wanted to become a Celestial Dragon Slayer." Alu explained. "And Neo Virgo said that I was a candidate to become one. I'm pretty sure she said that because I have Celestial and Dragon Slayer Magic. But Ivan mentioned a Spell, too. What I'm asking is this: do either of you know what makes a Celestial Dragon Slayer?"

Aquarius and Aries didn't answer, but they did have small reactions to that question. Aries bit her lip nervously, and Aquarius clenched. As much as they tried to be subtle about their reactions, everyone noticed them this time.

That at least gave Alu the hint that she was onto something. She decided to press the matter further, being as careful as she could.

"Do you have to complete a Spell to become one?" Alu asked. "Do you have to merge Celestial and Dragon Slayer Magic together? Is that why Ivan is stealing souls of Celestial Wizards and Dragon Slayers?"

"Ivan doesn't know what he's doing." Aquarius suddenly replied bluntly.

Alu blinked. It was now that Aquarius had a very stern expression.

"That man doesn't know anything." Aquarius went onto say with resentment. "It's not _A_ Celestial Dragon Slayer, it's _THE_ Celestial Dragon Slayer."

" _THE_ …Celestial Dragon Slayer?" Meldy said, her eyes widening a bit in surprise.

Aquarius lowered her head.

"And she died over four hundred years ago," the Water Spirit said bitterly.

"She?" Eagle blinked. "You mean the Celestial Dragon Slayer was a woman?"

"She was a very strong woman, both in body and spirit." Aquarius said. "Ivan is doing nothing but tarnishing her legacy. He has no idea what she did to protect this world. What she was willing to sacrifice."

Alu frowned sadly when she saw Aquarius grimace in emotional pain. It was a subtle expression, but Alu managed to catch it. She glanced over and saw that Aries had the same look of sorrow, only it was more apparent on her, and she wasn't trying to hide it.

Alu looked at both of them with empathy. Whoever this person was, she could tell that she was someone they loved very much.

Alu took a deep breath before speaking again. This time, she sounded more tentative.

"Um, if it doesn't bother you guys, I would like to hear more about her. Like…how did she become the Celestial Dragon Slayer?"

Aquarius and Aries both fell silent for a moment. Aries looked over at Aquarius with an unsure expression, and Aquarius looked back at her. Alu watched as both them exchanged facial expressions, like they were communicating to each other through some kind of telepathy.

Finally, Aquarius gave a small nod and looked down at the ground.

"The Celestial Dragon Slayer was a human in Earth Land back when Dragons terrorized the world," the Spirit explained. "And when I say back, I mean way back. It was long before Acnologia came to power."

"Before Acnologia?" Jellal said, surprised.

At the sound of that name, Alu blinked in bafflement. She had heard that name many times before, and she knew who Acnologia was. But for some reason, hearing that name this time made her feel as if she heard it before, and not by anyone in the Fairy Tail guild, or any of the other guilds.

Alu shook her head slightly to get the idea out of her head. She really didn't want to think about that now.

"Yeah." Aquarius continued. "Her family was killed by a Dragon, and she was separated from her clan. Around the same time, one Spirit from the Celestial Realm happened to stumble into this world by accident."

"Spirit?" Alu raised her eyebrows. "Hold on, I remember the Celestial Spirit King told me about that. But he said that the person the Spirit befriended became the first Celestial Wizard."

"That is true," Aquarius replied, "but don't you remember how Dragon Slayers got their Magic?"

"Yeah, of course I do. They were trained by Dragons."

"Well, it just so happens that the Spirit who first entered Earth Land all those years ago was the Dragon Spirit."

"Dragon Spirit?" Alu inhaled sharply. "There's a Dragon Spirit?"

"That's what I said." Aquarius answered in a low voice. "He was one of the most powerful Spirits in our world. His power rivaled even that of the Celestial Spirit King. Draco, the Celestial Dragon."

"Draco?" Alu whispered in wonder.

So, there was a Dragon Spirit in the Celestial World.

Draco, the Celestial Dragon.

Just the sound of that name filled Alu with a strange kind of empowerment, making her feel courageous and strong.

"Yes," Aquarius nodded, "as you can probably guess, Draco was the one who trained the Celestial Dragon Slayer. More than that, he took her in and loved her as if she was his own daughter. He told her stories of the Celestial World, and taught her Magic. Magic that would later become known as Dragon Slayer Magic."

"Hold on," Jellal spoke up, "are you saying that this girl was the first Dragon Slayer?"

"But I thought Irene was the first one." Meldy said. "Erza told us that she was the one came up with Dragon Slayer Magic."

"Irene's Dragon Slayer Magic was different." Aquarius said firmly. "If you could even call it Dragon Slayer Magic. It was really just a cheap imitation that could barely do any real damage to a Dragon. It was Enchantment Magic that resulted in chaos and the destruction of thousands of lives. The fact that it took over people's minds and bodies should've told everyone that it was faulty."

"Wait," Sorano narrowed her eyes pensively, "so you're saying that the Dragon Slayers of Fairy Tail and Sabertooth aren't really Dragon Slayers."

"The brand of Magic they use is Enchantment Magic shaped to imitate Dragon's Magic." Aquarius glared. "I hate to say it, but that's not true Dragon Slayer Magic. They're no different than Second Generation Dragon Slayers. The only difference is that they have a seed in them instead of a lacrima. Or both if you're talking about Sabertooth's Slayers. Honestly, I was shocked when I heard they actually defeated Acnologia. Then again, he had the same kind of Magic they did, so I guess I should've expected as much."

"But…what is true Dragon Slayer Magic?" Eagle asked, confused.

"To have Dragon Slayer Magic, one has to have Dragon's blood in them." Aquarius answered. "In other words, Dragon blood transfusion."

There was a small pause.

"Dragon blood transfusion?" Alu breathed slowly.

Aquarius gave a single nod.

"Simply by accident, Draco's blood found its way into the girl he took in as his daughter, and that is how she became the first and only true Dragon Slayer. She also invented Celestial Magic, hence her title."

Everyone was stunned by this news. Aquarius gave a small smirk.

"I guess you could say that Celestial Magic and Dragon Slayer Magic were connected from the beginning," the Water Spirit continued. "The Celestial Dragon Slayer was the most powerful of them all. She carried that responsibility with grace and courage, and we Celestial Spirits stood by her side as one."

Aquarius then lowered her gaze and her face became very somber.

"But like all mortals of this world, she was destined to die. And during the hardest fight of our lives, she…"

Aquarius winced and turned away. Aries sniffled as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"She must've really been someone special." Violet said softly.

Aries nodded.

"After that battle, Draco disappeared." Aries explained sadly. "He hasn't been seen in the Celestial World since."

"I'm so sorry, guys." Alu frowned. "That must've been really hard for you. But I can see why you'd be mad about Ivan wanting to complete a Spell to become the Celestial Dragon Slayer. I bet he invented it just so he could be more powerful."

Alu then looked up with a sudden expression of curiosity. The Celestial Dragon Slayer existed over four hundred years ago. How in all of Earth Land did Ivan find out about someone that was alive that long ago?

"How did he even know about this anyway?" Violet questioned out loud, saying what Alu was wondering. "Was the Celestial Dragon Slayer very well-known?"

"Depends on your definition of "well-known"." Aquarius replied. "She was only infamous to those who knew about her. But she was someone who tried to be as low key as possible. I don't know how Ivan found out about the Celestial Dragon Slayer, but he's got it all wrong."

"What do you mean?"

Aquarius swallowed hard and hesitated for a moment.

Finally, she took a deep breath.

"He keeps going on about a Spell," she said slowly, "but if my theory's correct, then what he found isn't a Spell, it's a Prophecy."

"A Prophecy?" Meldy breathed.

"Although Draco has been gone for a long time, there is a Prophecy in the Celestial World about him coming back."

"Draco coming back?" Alu blinked. "Is that why Ivan is hunting Celestial Wizards and Dragon Slayers? He's trying to bring back Draco by becoming the Celestial Dragon Slayer."

"Your guess is as good as mine, scruff munchkin." Aquarius scowled. "But that fool of a man, he disgraces Draco and the Celestial Dragon Slayer for doing this. They were willing to give up their lives for this world, and he just wants their power for himself. He's not worthy of it."

Alu looked away. Her eyes narrowed as she slipped into deep thought again. For a moment, she became unaware of everything else: her walking feet, Aquarius's weight on her shoulder, and even the air around her.

Is Ivan trying to awaken Draco? It certainly wouldn't surprise Alu if that was the case, seeing as how insane that man was. It seemed like the thing he would try and do. But if his method was wrong like Aquarius said it was, then what WAS the right way? How would a wizard summon a Dragon Spirit?

However, Alu didn't have much time to think about the subject any further. For at that moment, as she and her friends were walking past a mound of rocks, pretty much everyone except for Alu, Aquarius, and Sorano came to a sudden halt. The three looked back in surprise and saw that everyone else was up against an invisible wall.

"Guys!" Alu called out.

"Alu, we can't go on!" Violet said, sounding worried. "It's like there's an invisible wall!"

"Don't panic, Violet." Aquarius said calmly. "That's the sign we've reached the Valley of Gates. Only Celestial Wizards and Spirits can enter here."

Upon hearing that, Jellal turned to the weary Aries he was carrying on his back.

"I guess that means that this is as far as I can take you."

"It's okay," Aries said drowsily, "I can walk on my own from here."

Sorano watched as Jellal carefully set Aries down. The Golden Ram Spirit managed to walk forward for a few feet before her feet got mixed up together. She stumbled and shriek as she started to fall towards the hard ground. But before she could hit it, Sorano made a quick dash and manage to catch the Celestial Spirit. Aries blinked in surprise when she realized what had happened and turned to look at the white-haired woman.

"Well, we can't have you tripping all over yourself, now can we?" Sorano sighed as she hoisted one of Aries's arms over her shoulders. "Guess it's a good thing I used to be a Celestial Wizard now."

"Uh, yeah." Aries nodded, giving a small awkward expression. "Thank you."

"You sure you're okay, Aries?" Alu asked.

"Yes, Alu. I'm sorry to make you worry."

"Hey, don't apologize."

Alu looked back at rest of Crime Sorciére and the purple Exceed.

"You guys wait out here," she ordered. "We'll be right back."

"Don't worry about us." Jellal said. "You just do what you need to do."

Alu gave a single nod. Then with that, she, Aquarius, Sorano, and Aries continued on the path stretched out before them.

Slowly and carefully, the group of four walked further into the Valley. As they made their way through, the landscape began to change. Small bushes that were scattered around got bigger, skinny trees led into thicker and taller ones, and a trail of grass was beginning to appear.

After about five minutes, the group came to a stop at the top of a hill. Alu looked down at the site before her and breathed in awe.

The Valley of Gates was covered in mist that sparkled like stardust. Trees and bushes of the purest green grew around in a circular formation, leaving a single clear path that lead into the center of the Valley below. In the middle of it all was something that looked like a large, round crystal fire pit. Burning inside of it was a large flame of the purest white. Even from where they were standing, Alu and the others could feel the waves of heat resonating from it.

"This is it." Aquiarus breathed heavily. "That's the forge used to create the Celestial Keys."

"Our journey's almost complete." Alu exhaled. "All we have to do now is re-forge your key, and you and Aries can return to the Celestial World. C'mon, let's get moving."

* * *

 _Back in the forest…_

Meanwhile; Lucy, Happy, Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Wendy, Carla, and Romeo were all making it back to Magnolia as fast as they could. They had so much on their minds right now that they couldn't think about much except for the situation at hand. All they could focus on right now was getting back to Fairy Tail and warn everyone about Ivan. At the same time, they had to figure out how they were going to save Natsu and Alu. And they had to do it fast.

"Oh, I hope they'll be okay." Wendy said worriedly.

"Don't worry, Wendy." Romeo replied, trying to sound reassuring. "Natsu's tough. He'll get Alu back for sure. And he'll get out of Ivan's grasp no problem."

"Yeah, I know that." Wendy frowned. "But I still can't help but worry."

"Let's just get back to Fairy Tail as soon as possible." Erza commanded. "The sooner we get help the better."

"Right." Lucy nodded.

Erza herself was going through a small dilemma of her own. After Natsu got that ransom note, she couldn't stop thinking about her family in Crime Sorciére. If what Ivan really had taken Alu, then that meant that he would've had to take down the red-headed wizard'as husband and son. Erza had enough faith in Jellal and Eagle to know that they were both strong and powerful wizards, but as a mother and wife, she couldn't help but worry about her family. Especially now that she knew that Ivan was on the move again.

Still, as much as it worried her to think that Jellal and Eagle were in trouble, she kept telling herself to stay calm and to not assume the worst. The best thing she could do to help them now was get back to Fairy Tail as quickly as possible.

Suddenly, Carla stopped flying and gasped in horror. This caused everyone else to stop running and look back at her. They recognized the look on her face at once. She looked like her consciousness was partly removed from reality.

Carla was having a premonition.

When it was over, Carla took in a deep breath of air and shuddered. She then hugged herself and shivered uncontrollably. Wendy ran over to her Exceed partner and gently grabbed hold of her.

"What's wrong, Carla?" Wendy asked tenderly, cradling the Exceed in her arms. "What did you see?"

Carla took in a few deep breaths before swallowing the lump in her throat.

"It is a trap," she whispered fearfully. "I saw Alu, I know where she really is."

"Wait, what does that mean?!" Lucy asked quickly.

"Alu's not captured by Ivan." Carla replied. "She's in a valley a few miles east of here."

"What?!" Romeo exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise. "So she wasn't captured by Ivan?! Then how did have a piece of her vest?!"

"I'm guessing he must've gotten it during his fight with her last night." Gray deduced. "And looks like Rogue didn't know about that either."

"That definitely sounds like something Ivan would do." Gajeel grumbled. "Underhanded bastard."

"Well, at least we know that Alu is fine for now." Erza pointed out. "And I guess that means that Crime Sorciére is alright, too."

"But wait!" Happy suddenly interjected. "If Alu's not captured, then what about Natsu?!"

At the reminder of the Dragon Slayer, everyone became very worried again. They knew that Alu was safe, but Natsu didn't.

That could only mean…

Carla looked down, her paws trembling.

"He's walking right into a trap," she said in a weak voice. "I also saw…I saw Alu fighting Ivan and his Spirits. Natsu…he was chained up to some kind of alter. He was shouting out in anger and distress."

"No!" Lucy gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth.

"We gotta stop Alu before she reaches Ivan!" Happy shouted in distress. "You said she was a few miles east of here!"

"Yes, but…"

Before Carla could finish her sentence, Happy was off like a shot. He had activated his Aera Wings and took off at Mach Speed before anyone had the time to stop him. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

"Happy, wait!" Lucy cried out.

But it was in vain. Happy was too far away to hear her now.

A few seconds after that, Lucy noticed that Carla was starting to cry.

"Carla, what's wrong?!" Lucy asked fearfully. "What else did you see?!"

Carla took a deep breath and looked up at Lucy with a glint of dread in her eyes.

"Lucy…" she hesitated, her voice full of fear. "I saw Alu. She was crying. And then…I saw her…she was crying over Natsu's body. He was still, and lifeless."

Everyone froze in shock at Carla's news. If there was one thing they knew about Carla's visions, it was they were usually, if not always true. If she had seen what was going to happen in the future, then there as high chance that it was going to happen.

Lucy turned very pale, and horror filled her eyes. Her heart began to beat fast with sickening worry, and her hands trembled. She looked northeastward, the direction she had last seen Natsu run off in. She struggled to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. To think that her husband and daughter were both in potential danger, and she wasn't there to help them. If Carla had the premonition sooner, she could've done something. She could've gone with Natsu to confront Ivan. She could've been able to help him and save Alu.

But there was nothing she could do now. Nothing except get back to Fairy Tail and get reinforcements.

Now was not the time to be weak. She had to do what she could to save her family. She had almost lost Natsu once, and she vowed long ago that she wouldn't lose him again. And she most definitely wasn't going to lose her daughter either.

Lucy let out a deep breath of air and turned back to the others. The look on her face was a mixture of fright and determination.

"We have to get back to the guild and fast!" she demanded. "More than one life is at stake here!"

The others didn't even stop to argue. Everyone set out in a dead sprint through the forest. They had to get to a nearby town and take a train back to Magnolia. It was the only thing they could do right now.

As they ran, only one thought passed through Lucy's mind.

 _"Natsu, Alu, please just come back safe and sound! Please don't let that premonition come true! Just come back to me!"_


	25. Chapter 25: A Key Re-Forged

**Chapter 24**

 **A Key Re-Forged**

 _In the Valley of Gates…_

After they had taken the path down the hill, Alu, Aquarius, Aries, and Sorano all stopped in front of the fire pit, with the brilliant white flame blazing inside it. Now that they weren't moving anymore, Alu and Sorano let Aquarius and Aries go so they could stand on their own.

For a while, Alu stared up at the flame with amazement. It was unlike any fire that she had seen before. It almost felt as if it was made up of a different kind of fire than the one Alu was accustomed to. She could feel the powerful heat coming off of it, but it didn't feel like it was threatening to melt her skin off. It didn't seem to be affecting Sorano either.

At the same time, though Alu couldn't quite explain it, the fire felt familiar to her. Like it was something from a distant dream.

She then looked down to study the fire pit. Now that she was closer, she could see that it was made of fourteen blocks circling around the white fire. Each block was made of solid diamond, and each block a symbol carved on them.

Thirteen of them had the Zodiac symbols: Leo, Aquarius, Aries, Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, Capricorn, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Libra, Pisces, and Ophiuchus.

Each of the twelve Zodiacs had their symbols engraved with gold, while Ophiuchus's symbol was engraved with onyx.

But the fourteenth symbol, the one that was engraved with another layer of green diamond, was one that Alu had never seen before. It vaguely resembled something like a lizard. Feeling mysteriously drawn to it, Alu walked over to it, knelt down, and placed her hand on the symbol in an uncharacteristically delicate manner.

"That's Draco's symbol." Aquarius explained, sensing Alu's curiosity.

"He has his own insignia?" Alu inquired.

"Of course, he does." Aquarius replied flatly. "Ever Spirit who has a Celestial Key has their own insignia."

"Hold on." Alu turned around quickly. "You're saying Draco had his own key?"

Aquarius nodded.

"But just like with the Celestial Spirit King," the Water Spirit went on to explain, "Draco couldn't be summoned through normal means."

Alu frowned and reached into key pouch around her waist. She pulled out Aquarius's broken key and stood up. She turned back to the two Celestial Spirits.

"I know that a Zodiac Key needs to be broken to summon the Spirit King," Alu explained, "but how was Draco summoned?"

"Draco had his own key." Aries said softly. "But only the combined power of Celestial and Dragon Slayer Magic could summon him. And the only one with that power was the Celestial Dragon Slayer. No other Celestial Wizard could do that. But just like with all of us Zodiac Spirits, Draco could open his own gate if he had to."

"But he could only be summoned by the Celestial Dragon Slayer?" Sorano said. "Well, I guess that's better than having to break all Zodiac Keys."

Aquarius and Aries both nodded.

"Speaking of which," Alu spoke up, "Aquarius, we better get your key repaired."

"Right." Aquarius replied. "First, you need to get a piece of gold from the chest over there."

Alu followed the direction Aquarius was pointing and saw a large bronze chest just a few feet from her right. Alu walked over to it, undid the latch holding it closed, and opened the lid. Her eyes widened in mild surprise when she saw that the chest contained rectangular pieces of gold and silver. All of them were exactly the same size and length.

Alu reached in a grab a gold piece.

"Will this be enough?" she asked, showing it to Aquarius.

"That should do." Aquarius replied. "Now we must place that along with my key hilt on the block with my symbol."

Alu obeyed. As soon as she located the block with Aquarius's symbol on it, she placed the broken key and piece of gold together so that they looked vaguely like one key. She then stepped back so that she and Aquarius were standing side-by-side.

"What now?" Alu asked.

"We must combine our power together and recite an incantation." Aquarius replied. "But we must be in perfect sync to do this. That means we must have complete faith in each other. Are you willing to do that?"

"Only if you are." Alu grinned.

"Then let's do it."

Taking a deep breath, Alu stretched out her right arm until the palm of her hand made contacted with Aquarius's left one. Alu then closed her eyes and focused all her Magic and thoughts into performing this task. She forced herself not to fret over whether she had enough Celestial Magic for this. She couldn't think about that.

This was going to take all of her Magic.

Not wanting to be in the way, Aries and Sorano backed a safe distance away and watched the events unfold before them.

As Alu and Aquarius's Magic became harmonized with the other's, a blue and white Magic Circle appeared underneath the two of them. A mysterious wind swirled up underneath them, gently sweeping their hair and clothing. At the same time, the white fire blazed even brighter and seemed to zero in on the broken key resting on the block below.

Then Aquarius began to recite an incantation, and Alu repeated after her.

 _"O Starfire of the Heaven's Light,_

 _Restore the strength of body and spirit_

 _Repair what has been broken_

 _Re-forge what has been shattered_

 _Rekindle the bond of trust_

 _Open the Gate_

 _Now once again!"_

As soon as Alu finished the incantation, she felt a surge of power rush from her. She winced and groaned as it took her by surprise, but she refused to break her concentration. She could feel Aquarius giving it all she had, so she had to do the same.

As the Celestial Wizard and Spirit unleashed their power, the block with Aquarius's symbol on it began to glow a water-blue brilliance. At the same time, the white fire whipped up into the sky for a moment. It then then shot down onto the key and piece of gold.

Aries watched all this through squinted eyes. The light was so intense that she was almost blinded by the first burst of fire. But her curiosity forced her to at least look as best she could. Everything she saw next left her in complete and utter shock.

For a moment, Aquarius's Key and the piece of gold next to it began to tremble and move closer together. The gold piece also seemed to be morphing and changing shape. Alu could feel it. The two pieces were on the verge of merging together.

Was it possible, was she really going to pull it off? It looked like it.

She just might do this!

But then a wave of exhaustion hit Alu like a rock to the head. It came on so hard and fast that she almost keeled over. She knew this sensation all too well. She had felt it many times before.

She was almost out of Celestial Magic. Now of all times, she was out of Celestial Magic.

No! She couldn't be out of power! Not now! Not when she was so close! The Key was almost re-forged! She wasn't going to let her Magic Deficiency hold her back this time! She refused to let her weakness get the best of her!

She was going to re-forge Aquarius's key, even if it was the last thing she did!

Alu forced herself to stand up tall. But the pain of losing so much Magic Power was becoming too great. She let out a cry of agony as she tried to syphon as much of her Celestial Magic as she could. When she felt herself nearly out of Celestial Magic, she resorted to converting her Dragon Slayer Magic. This made her cry out in pain again. The process made Alu feel like she was being stabbed repeatedly with a flaming sword.

Aquarius felt it, too. She felt that Alu running out of Magic fast. Worst of all, Alu was forcibly changing her Dragon Slayer Magic into Celestial Magic. That was a very dangerous decision.

"ALU, STOP!" Aquarius shouted. "YOU'RE GOING TO KILL YOURSELF IF YOU KEEP THIS UP! JUST STOP!"

"NO!" Alu cried, sweat beginning to drip down her face. "I WON'T STOP 'TILL YOUR KEY'S REPAIRED!"

"IT'S TOO DANGEROUS! STOP IT, ALU! IF YOU DON'T, YOU'LL DEPLETE YOUR LIFE FORCE!"

"IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES, SO BE IT!"

"ALU-!"

"I MADE A PROMISE TO YOU AND MY MOM AND I'M NOT GOING TO BREAK IT!" Alu screamed. "I DIDN'T COME ALL THIS WAY TO QUIT! I WON'T LET MY STUPID DEFICIENCY STOP ME ANYMORE! I'M GOING TO KEEP MY PROMISE!"

Aquarius opened one eye and looked over at Alu. The girl was on the verge of passing out. Aquarius could clearly see that Alu was doing all she could to keep herself from falling over, but she was getting weaker by the second. This was too much for her.

Aquarius then looked over her key. It was wavering between being completely forged to falling apart again. It was like a representation of what Alu was going through. She was wavering between giving up all of her Magic, and her life.

There had to be something Aquarius could do, but she was almost out of power, too. What could she do?

Aquarius then looked down at the right side of her skirt. As she did, something underneath it began to glow white, just like it did back in the forest when they fought Ivan. Aquarius gave determined expression and looked back at the white flames whipping wildly around her key.

"OKAY, SCRUFF MUNCHKIN!" she yelled to Alu. "YOU LEFT ME WITH NO CHOICE! BRACE YOURSELF!"

Before Alu could ask what Aquarius meant by that, the white light under Aquarius's skirt shot a stream of light up through the Spirit's body. It raced across her arm until it reaches Alu's hand. The moment it did, Alu's eyes snapped open for a moment when she felt a jolt of power enter her body.

For a split second, images flashed in her mind.

* * *

 _The sound of splattered blood across human flesh. Vision stained with red._

 _A blonde-haired woman in white and blue garments looking on with a worried expression, clutching golden and silver keys close to her heart._

 _Standing tall, muscular man with tanned skin, dark blue hair and tattoos on his face and arms stared down. Eyes were sharp and menacing. The dark rings around them only added to their intensity._

 _Yet, there was something off about them._

 _"This is what you wanted, isn't it?!" he said in an angry tone. "To stop me?! Yet you can't seem to even muster up the will to fight me! I never knew you had such a death wish!"_

 _"Agnar, please!" a familiar voice pleaded. "You have to stop! Can't you see what you're doing is wrong?!"_

 _"Hmph. I thought you were stronger than that. But I guess this a weakness I should expect from someone of the Dragneel clan. But compassion won't dissuade me. Don't forget, you chose to fight me."_

 _There was a long silence. Then finally, the voice without a face stood up._

 _"Very well then. You left me with no choice. But I want you to know this. Even though we face each other as enemies, and no matter what you think of me now, you will always be Agnar to me."_

 _The man growled. Whether it was from irritation or emotional pain was hard to tell._

 _A hand holding a glittering key appeared. The key was made of diamond, and had a fire motif._

 _"That said, I made a promise and I'm gonna keep it! I'm taking back what you stole!"_

* * *

Alu suddenly snapped back to reality, and became aware of the pain that was coursing through her. She shut her eyes and lifted her head to scream in agony towards the sky. Just like before, it felt like white-hot fire had entered her bloodstream and was coursing through her.

Only this time it felt worse. Now she felt like a large streak of the bangs in her hair has been set ablaze, and her right eye had just been shot with a flaming arrow.

But at the same time, as that white light made its way into her heart, she felt a strange rush of Magic surge through her body. She glowed as brightly as a star for a second or two. Then, with a cry of determination, Alu unleashed that power and channeled all of it directly at Aquarius's Key.

It sent out a shockwave that only affected Aries and Sorano. The two of them were thrown back by the force. They both fell to the ground and tumbled for a few feet.

As that happened, Aquarius's Key shimmered for a second before the hilt and piece of gold collided together. In a flash of light, the white fire blazing around it worked the rest of the Magic and fused the two pieces together.

Finally, the fire lowered the Key back onto the block and drifted back into the fire pit. At the same time, the Magic Circle around Alu and Aquarius disappeared and they lowered their arms.

Alu staggered and brought her right hand up to her aching eye. Her eye hurt horribly, but there was no sign of any injury to it. There wasn't even any blood leaking from it. It felt perfectly fine. Still, it hurt too much for her to try and open it.

Not only that, but Alu felt like her bangs were on fire. She used her left hand to feel around for any signs of flames, but all she felt was her ruffled hair, nothing more. But that sure didn't stop the pain.

Alu slowly opened her left eye and looked over at Aquarius. The Water Spirit had dropped to the ground and was panting heavily for air.

"Aquarius," Alu panted, her voice weak and rough, "are you okay?"

Aquarius didn't respond. Instead, she lifted her right hand and pointed over to the fire pit. Alu followed the direction of her finger…

…and her left eye widened as large as it could in surprise.

There, resting on the block with the Water Barrier's seal, was Aquarius's Key. Fully repaired and sparkling brightly like it had never been broken in the first place.

Exhausted and fatigued, Alu slowly limped over to the fire pit. When she got there, she removed her right hand from her eye and picked the key off of the block. She smiled happily and some tears welled up as she stared at the re-forged key. She felt like she was going to burst with joy.

She had done it. She had actually done it. She had succeeded in repairing Aquarius's key. For once, she had succeeded at something.

"Oh, I can't wait to see the look on Mom's face when she sees this," she said to herself, holding the key close to her heart. "She's going to be so happy. And now…Aries and Aquarius…now they can…go back…"

At that moment, Alu's world started to go out of focus. Her drain of Magic Power suddenly caught up with her all at once. Her head throbbed in pain, making her stagger. She groaned and swayed for a moment before her legs buckled out from under her. The ground rushed to meet her.

The last thing Alu remembered was the sounds of two voices calling out her name in distress. After that, nothing but darkness, silence, and stillness.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

Natsu slowed down and came to a stop. He had been running almost non-stop for about two hours. When he wasn't running, he was walking at a very quick pace until he got enough of his breath back. Running all the way to Mount Zonia was certainly a challenge. It wouldn't have been so bad if it was just a straight line. But Natsu found himself climbing over rocks, jumping across ravines, or wading through rivers. Around the time he came to his fifth ravine, Natsu wished that he had Happy to fly him most of the way.

Still, it was times like this when Natsu was glad that he had the endurance of a Dragon in his body. If not, he would've had a much rougher time.

Near-endless strength and stamina were some of the advantages of being a Dragon Slayer.

Still, having his little buddy around to lend a hand would've been a great thing. It certainly would help his limbs from aching as much as they were now.

It was well past midday when he had reached his location. By now, sweat was rolling off his body, his limbs were shaking slightly, he was panting heavily for precious air, and his heart was pounding so hard that he could feel and see his chest thumping up and down from the force of each beat. But it was all worth it to him right now.

He had reached Sacred Mount Zonia.

"I made it," he breathed heavily. "Now I just need to find a way in."

Taking in one last gulp of air, Natsu ran off to find an entrance into the mountain. At least now he didn't have to worry about not getting to this place on time. He just had to focus on his next priority.

And that was rescuing his daughter.

"Just hang on, Alu," he said to himself. "I'm almost there. I promise I will save you."


	26. Chapter 26: Changes

**Chapter 26**

 **Changes**

 _"No, don't do this!"_

 _"I have to! It's the only way!"_

 _"Stop trying to be the hero all the time! You don't owe this world anything!"_

 _"Yes, I do! This is the world I was born in!"_

 _"And all it's done is stab you in the back! You think sacrificing yourself is going to make everything alright?! Don't you care about the ones you'll leave behind?!"_

 _"Stop trying to talk me out of this! This world can lose every living thing, or it can just lose me!"_

* * *

"Alu. Are you okay? Wake up."

A small voiced echoed in Alu's head as she started to come back around. She soon became aware that she was resting up against something hard and rough. She winced and groaned as she struggled to open her eyes. She slowly brought her left hand up to cover her right eye as she opened her other one a little. Her right eye felt like it was burning, her head was throbbing, and her whole body felt stiff and raw.

"Are you alright, Alu?"

Alu looked over to her left and saw Violet was standing next to her, her little paws caringly on Alu's arm.

"Violet." Alu groaned. "I…I think so. Just a little sore."

"Well, that's good," a deep voice said.

Alu looked up to see Jellal kneeling down beside her. Behind him was the rest of Crime Sorciére, who were all looking at Alu with anticipation.

"Glad to see you're awake." Eagle smiled. "When Aries and Aquarius carried you out, we all got worried."

"Aries, Aquarius!" Alu exclaimed. "Where are they? Are they alright?"

"Don't' worry, Alu." Violet explained. "They're back in the Celestial World now."

Alu blinked for a moment. She then looked over at her right hand and saw that it was clutching something. She brought it up and uncurled her fingers. Resting in the palm of her hand was the repaired key of Aquarius the Water Bearer.

"Oh, that's right." Alu sighed and smiled. "Well, I'm just glad those two are okay now."

"Wish we could say the same about you." Sorano said. "Seriously, how many more times are you gonna pass out?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry." Alu apologized, sounding genuinely sincere. "I guess I used up too much power."

For a second, Alu sat where she was with a blank expression.

 _"Was that a dream?"_ she thought. _"Why was I arguing with Aquarius? Ugh, my mind must be playing tricks on me. But…it seemed so real. Like I was having déjà vu. Oh well, it's probably nothing."_

"Are you okay, Alu?" Violet asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." Alu shrugged. "I'm talking to myself."

Alu groaned and struggled to sit up. She looked back behind her and saw the large rock she had been resting up against. She rubbed her right eye tenderly, trying to make the burning sensation go away.

Meldy noticed her discomfort and immediately walked over to the pink-haired girl. Jellal stood up and backed away to give his comrade more room. Meldy knelt down to Alu's level and place a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're okay, Alu?" she asked gently. "Is there something wrong with your eye?"

"Kind of." Alu said. "It's just irritated I think."

"Here, let me look at it."

Meldy carefully grabbed Alu's hand and pulled it away from her face. Alu winced for a second as she tried to open her right eye. As she did, the irritation began to fade away.

The second she opened it completely, Meldy gave small gasp and covered her mouth with her hands. She stared at Alu with wide, horrified eyes.

And it wasn't just Meldy either. Everyone gave startled reactions the moment they saw Alu's eye.

"What's wrong?" Alu asked. "Is it blood-shot or something?"

"Uh, Alu, what color are your eyes?" Meldy asked shakily.

"Green." Alu answered, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Um, you might want to look at yourself."

Meldy fished in one of her pockets and pulled out something that looked like a small black compact. She opened it and handed it to Alu. Alu good it and looked into the mirror.

She shrieked when she saw her reflection.

While Alu's left eye was still dark green like always, her right eye had turned to a bright cyan color. Not only that, but the pupil in that eye was no longer circular. It was practically a slit, almost like a cat's.

On top of that, there was a now large streak of emerald green in Alu's bangs.

Alu ran her fingers through her bangs and touched the lower part of her right eye, completely freaked out.

When did this happen?

"Wha-Wha-Wha-Wha!" Alu stammered, unable to get out a single word.

"Alu, are you okay?" Violet asked, unsure of what else to say.

"Am I OKAY?!" Alu screeched as she whipped around to the little Exceed. "Do I LOOK okay to you?! My hair's two different colors and my eye looks like it belongs to a Dragon!"

Violet stepped back and looked up at Alu fearfully. Alu noticed her reaction and blinked when she realized what she just did. She glanced away guiltily and rubbed her arm.

"I-I'm sorry, Violet." Alu said unsteadily. "That came out wrong. I'm just really freaked out right now. How did this happen?"

"I don't know." Violet replied. "You just had the streak of green in your hair when Aquarius carried you out."

"Actually," Sorano said, "while you were trying to repair Aquarius's Key back there, I noticed that your hair randomly changed color during the process. I guess Aquarius gave you another power boost or something."

It was then that Alu suddenly remembered what happened. Aquarius had given her a mysterious boost of power when they were re-forging her key. When that happened, Alu felt like her hair and eye were suddenly on fire. Not only that, but it felt as if fire went through her bloodstream. It was a very similar sensation to the one she felt just before her fire changed from orange to white back in the forest.

"Just what did Aquarius do to me?" Alu moaned, rubbing her eyes with her left hand. "First my fire turns white and now this. What's going on with me?"

Violet just shrugged.

"Oh, never mind." Alu said, shaking her head. "I'm sure we can sort it out once we get back to Fairy Tail."

"Good idea on the whole." Jellal said as he reached out a hand to help Alu up. "Now that you've completed your mission, it's high time we dealt with Ivan. We'll drop you off at the guild and continue our search for Ivan."

"Okay." Alu nodded.

Jellal then turned to his son.

"Eagle, I think it's best if you stay at Fairy Tail while the rest of us continue with our search. They could use someone with your Magic, just in case Ivan decides to attack. Not to mention, I would be more comfortable knowing that you're there to protect your mother."

"Yes, Father." Eagle replied.

"Um, do you think I can come, too?" Violet asked shyly. "I know might not be much in a fight, but I can use my Aera Magic to fly."

"Sure thing." Alu grinned. "Besides, I was hoping you would come back to Fairy Tail with me. Our guild could certainly use another Exceed."

At the sound of that idea, Violet gave a mildly surprised look. After a second, she smiled at the invitation and nodded.

"Okay."

Violet then summoned her Aera Wings and flew over to Alu. She grabbed the girl by her vest, and carried Alu up into the sky. This made Alu yelp in surprise.

"I can get you back to the guild faster if we fly." Violet explained. "After all, you want to get back as fast as you can."

Alu blinked before nodding in agreement. She then looked down at Crime Sorciére.

"Violet and I will start off towards the guild," she said. "You guys make it there as fast as you can. We'll meet you there."

"Okay, just be careful, Alu." Jellal ordered. "And don't stop for anything."

"Same to you. Good luck. And thanks for everything."

Alu turned to look back at her Exceed companion.

"Fairy Tail's in that direction. Just head straight."

Alu pointed westward. Violet acknowledge the direction and flew off as fast as she could. In a matter of seconds, Crime Sorciére had vanished in the distance.

Normally, Alu would've enjoyed the thrill of flying through the sky. She would've laughed and whooped with excitement of feeling the wind blow through her hair, the sensation of being weightless and unbound by the gravity of the world, and the rush of freedom.

However, she had more important things on her mind to even think about that. The only thing she could focus on was getting back to her parents as fast as she could. The sooner she got back to them, the better.

Alu and Violet hadn't gone more than a mile when they heard a screech come from right in front of them.

"ALUUUUUUUUUU!"

Alu looked straight ahead and saw a little dot in the distance growing larger by each second. She quickly realized that it was heading straight for her and Violet. As it got closer, it began to take on the form of a little blue Exceed.

"Wait, Happy?!"

Sure enough, Happy was coming towards her at Mach Speed. He couldn't seem to slow himself down in time, and he soon found himself heading for a crash course with Alu's face.

Both Alu and Happy screamed for a split second before the little Exceed collided head-on with her. The sudden jolt nearly made Violet drop Alu, but she still managed to hang on tightly. She did lower her altitude a bit though before stopping to hover in mid-air.

Alu groaned, grabbing Happy by his little torso and pulling him off her face. She then shut her eyes and shook her head, trying to make her brain stop swimming around like an egg yolk inside its shell. Once she had gotten her senses back together, she opened her eyes and looked at the sky-blue Exceed in her hands.

She immediately knew that something was wrong. Happy was here, but her father wasn't. Normally, whenever Happy was close by, Natsu wasn't too far behind.

"Happy, what are you doing here?" she asked. "And where's Dad?"

Happy looked dazed for a moment. From his perspective, he was seeing stars along with two blurred images of Alu.

"Wow, Alu," he slurred with dizziness, "when did you suddenly become twins?"

"Oh, get a hold of yourself, Happy." Alu said gruffly. "Where's Dad?"

Happy blinked a few times and looked at Alu. His eyes then widened with shock when he saw her face, and he screamed in terror. He shot out of Alu's hands and hovered above her, looking down at her with a horrified expression.

"AUGH! ALU, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?!" he screeched.

Alu frowned and her eyes glazed over with annoyance

"Get a grip, Happy," she said sharply. "I don't know how this happened. But I don't have time to explain either. What are you doing here? And where's Dad? Shouldn't he be with you?"

At the mention of Natsu, Happy's expression changed to even more worried.

"Natsu!" he cried. "He's in danger!"

"What?!" Alu's eyes widened in terror.

"Ivan tricked him!" Happy explained franticly. "He sent a ransom note saying that he was going to kill you if Natsu didn't come to Mount Zonia by sunset! But it was all a trap! After Natsu ran off to save you, Carla had a premonition and found out that you were really here! I came to get you and bring you back because Carla saw you fighting off Ivan because you somehow found out about Natsu being captured!"

Alu stared in horror as Happy told her all this. Her blood felt like it had turned to ice, and her heart clenched inside her chest. Her throat tightened and she for a second, she had a hard time breathing.

Her father was in danger, and it was because he was trying to rescue her. It was because of her he was walking into a trap. It was because of HER Ivan was going to take Natsu's soul for himself.

"No," she whispered fearfully, "I can't let that happen."

"Alu?" Violet looked at her friend with concern.

There was a short silence.

"I have to help him." Alu finally said. "I have to save my dad."

"But Alu, you can't!" Happy replied stressfully. "You're not strong enough to take on Ivan! Carla said that she saw Natsu chained up and shouting in distress!"

That piece of information made Alu flinch and inhale shakily. But it had the opposite effect of what Happy was trying get. It just made Alu even more adamant than before.

"I can't!" she shouted defiantly. "I can't leave him! I won't run away! I don't care how strong Ivan is! I'll do whatever it takes to save my dad! And you can't stop me!"

"But Alu-!"

"You told me where to find him!" Alu scowled. "So I'm going!"

Happy's jaw dropped and he gave an alarmed expression.

He DID just tell her where to find Natsu! That's why Carla saw her fighting Ivan!

This was HIS fault!

"OH CRAP!" Happy shrieked. "WHY DID I HAVE TO OPEN MY BIG MOUTH?!"

"Now I just need to know where to find Mount Zonia." Alu said out loud.

"Mount Zonia?" Violet questioned.

"Yeah, do you know where it is, Violet?" Alu asked eagerly.

"Yes, I do." Violet replied. "Actually, that's where I'm from."

"What?!" Both Alu and Happy jolted.

"I was born and raised near Mount Zonia." Violet explained. "I lived in a small village with a bunch of other Exceeds and a few humans at the base of the mountain. But one day, we were attacked by Ivan and his Spirits and they scattered us. I flying for my life when you found me, Alu."

"Really?" Alu blinked. "Can you take me there?"

"Are you sure?" Violet said.

Alu nodded in response.

"Okay then." Violet answered. "It's not too far from here. We should be there by sunset."

"Wait!" Happy shouted. "I can't let you go alone!"

"Don't try to stop me, Happy!" Alu snapped. "I'm going to save my dad!"

Happy narrowed his eyes.

"Okay, fine," he said in a serious voice. "But I'm going with you. I promised Natsu and Lucy and I'd bring you back safe and sound. So, if you're going, then I'm going with you."

Alu stared at Happy for a brief second. She then narrowed her eyebrows and nodded. That was as fair of a compromise as she was gonna get, but that was okay with her right now.

"Then let's get moving," she said. "We don't have much time. Violet, we'll let you lead the way."

"Right, leave it to me." Violet replied.

With that, Violet adjusted her direction north by northwest and flew off with Alu as fast as she could. Happy flew alongside them, keeping up with ease. Fortunately for the group, the wind current was helping them with their speed. By some good fortune, it was blowing them in the direction they wanted to go.

It looked like luck was on their side for now.

The whole time they flew, Alu had a determined look on her face. The thought of Ivan using her as a trick to get her father's soul made her both sick with worry, and blazing with anger.

How dare that coward of a wizard abuse Natsu's protective instincts to lure him into a trap! If that man so much as lays a finger on her father, Alu swore to herself that she would burn Ivan into a pile of ashes!

"Hang on, Dad!" she said quietly to herself. "I'm coming to save you!"

* * *

 _A few hours later, at Mount Zonia…_

"Finally." Natsu exhaled. "I found an entrance."

At around the last hour before sunset, Natsu had managed to find an opening. It was a small cave that led down into the mountain, just near the peak of summit. It was a bit of a narrow fit, so Natsu had to squeeze and squirm through the opening. It took him about five minutes to get through. Although for him, it felt like fifteen minutes. Once he was inside, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. By now, he was beginning to feel really tired. On top of that, his stomach growled with hunger.

"Oh, geez," he groaned, "I'm so hungry. Well, this is what I get for not eating anything since breakfast I guess."

It was then that Natsu felt something sinister. It was such an ominous feeling that it made him shudder and wrap his arms around himself. He couldn't quite explain it, but something about this sensation felt eerily familiar. Like something he had felt before, but it was so long ago that he had almost forgotten about it. Not to mention, there was a stench that hit his nose with a deadly familiarity. But he just couldn't remember from why or what it was.

Regardless, Natsu started to feel sick from it.

"Man," he shivered, "I haven't felt something this evil for a while. But it feels like it's from something that's long gone. Whatever it was, it certainly left its stain here."

Natsu then shook his head and cleared his mind. He couldn't think about that right now.

"I have to find Alu," he said, clenching his fists. "But I can't catch her sent because of this air. It's like its poisoned with only one scent. I guess I'll just have to find her on my own then."

Natsu then straightened himself up and began to walk down a long tunnel, keeping his senses on high alert for any signs of Alu. Eventually, the tunnel led him to a large cavern that was about the size of the Fairy Tail Guild's main hall. There wasn't much in it expect for a large slap of stone with a circular kind of alter on it. It rested in the far corner of the cave. All around walls were torches that were lit with fire.

Natsu stopped at the entrance of the tunnel and scowled. For just a few yards in front of him, looking at him with a villainous grin, was Ivan.

"Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail." Ivan said malevolently. "So you came after all. Somehow I had a feeling you would."

"Shut your face, Ivan!" Natsu snapped. "I didn't come here to have a chat; I came to get my daughter back! Now where is she?!"

Ivan just grinned and reached for something underneath his cloak.

"You mean the little pink-haired brat?" he drawled maliciously. "Oh, so sorry, but she's not here."

"What?!"

"That was just an incentive to get you here." Ivan continued. "And it looks like you've fallen for it. Aren't you a dedicated father."

Natsu scowled even harder and snarled. If Ivan was playing some sort of trick on him, then he had another thing coming.

Natsu clenched his fists and summoned his Dragon Slayer Magic. He then charged forward in an attempt punch Ivan's face in.

"WHERE'S ALU?!" Natsu roared.

Ivan just smiled wickedly and swiped a red key out from underneath his cloak. Before Natsu knew what was happening, his fist collided with an arm that was clad in gold armor. He was then forced to leap back and avoid a punch that was backed up with a black fire-like substance. Natsu landed on his feet and looked up to see a corrupted version of Leo standing in front of him.

"Leo," Ivan ordered, "beat this Dragon Slayer into submission. But keep him alive, I need his soul to complete my plans."

"As you wish, master." Neo Leo replied.

"Bring it on!" Natsu shouted. "I'm all fired up!"

With that, Natsu and Neo Leo both charged towards each other.


	27. Chapter 27: Ensnared

**Chapter 27**

 **Ensnared**

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!"

"PITCH BLACK HAMMER!"

Natsu and Neo Leo's attacks collided together in an explosion of red and black fire. The impact it gave off forced both the Dragon Slayer and Dark Zodiac Spirit to leap backwards and away from each other. As soon as he had recovered, Natsu lit fire around his feet and darted towards Neo Leo again. The Dark Lion Spirit mimicked Natsu and lit his Dark Regulus around his own golden boots. The two jumped forward at the same time and attempted to kick the other in the face. This only lead to their attacks colliding again. Once again, the impact sent them backwards as it exploded.

Needing to come up with a plan, Natsu landed on his feet and began to run around the interior of the cave, his eyes solely focused on Neo Leo as the Dark Spirit attempted to attack him. Natsu knew from past experience that it was dangerous to stand still in the middle of a fight, especially if he wasn't fighting his opponent. He had to keep moving and come up with a plan to stop this guy.

As he thought of this, Natsu's stomach gave a big growl and clenched painfully. It reminded him that he had been on his feet almost all day and hadn't eaten anything. Not even so much as a flame. He had to get some food or fire in him soon.

Fortunately, there were torches of fire all around the room. As he ran past one, he jumped up and snatched it off its stand in the wall. He then shoved the thing into his mouth and swallowed the flame. It might not have been much, but Natsu could feel his power coming back as the fire slithered down his throat and into his stomach, filling it up almost instantly.

"Oh yeah, now I've got a fire in my belly."

Natsu threw the stick away and slid to a stop before darting towards Neo Leo again. He jumped up and made it look like he was going to hit Neo Leo again. Neo Leo jumped up and prepared himself to meet Natsu's attack. However, at the last minute, Natsu grabbed hold of Neo Leo's arm as the Dark Spirit attempted to punch him. The Dragon Slayer then hoisted himself up above Neo Leo, did a mid-air backflip, and using his heel, kicked the Dark Spirit down to the ground, where he crashed with a loud "BOOM".

Seeing his chance, Natsu turned his attention to Ivan. Lighting up fire around his fist, he shot straight downwards toward the wicked man.

"WHERE'S ALU, IVAN?!" Natsu shouted. "TELL ME!"

Ivan just grinned maliciously. Instead, he responded by sending out a black tentacle straight towards Natsu.

Natsu saw the attack coming and managed to twist his body so that it narrowly missed his chest. He then tumbled through the air and landed on his feet, just a few yards away from Ivan.

"You still worried about that worthless brat?" Ivan taunted. "You should be more concerned about yourself. Especially since you're about to be outnumbered."

Ivan pulled another red key off of his key chain.

"Open, Gate of the Dark Bull!" he commanded. "Taurus!"

Natsu gasped when a Neo version of Taurus appeared before his eyes.

"Taurus, take down this Dragon Slayer." Ivan commanded. "But keep him alive."

"As you wish, Master." Neo Taurus replied obediently.

As Neo Taurus charged at Natsu, the Dragon Slayer leapt out of the way, flipping over onto his hands. He then hand-sprung himself up into the air and took in a deep breath.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

A stream of intense flames shot from Natsu's mouth and hit Neo Taurus. For a moment, Natsu grinned when he saw his flames engulf the Dark Spirit. However, his face soon changed to concern when his flames suddenly burst apart and faded. Neo Taurus had used his book to summon a small version of the real Taurus's axe. With it, he cut through Natsu's fire like it was nothing more than softened butter.

"Pretty impressive, Dragon Slayer." Neo Taurus said condescendingly. "But I'm afraid it'll take more than that to incinerate me."

Neo Taurus rushed at Natsu again, closing in too fast for Natsu to dodge. Natsu bent over backwards as that axe swung directly over his face, just barely missing his nose. He then tumbled to the left jumped back up onto his feet.

By this time, Neo Leo had recovered from his face-plant to the ground and was up again. Enraged from being injured in battle, he summoned Dark Regulus to both of his fists and charged towards Natsu.

"You're mine, Dragneel!"

Natsu glanced over to his right and saw Neo Leo approaching him. He then glanced to his left and saw Neo Taurus charging at him, too. Thinking quickly, he waited for just the right moment, when both Dark Spirits were about to strike him. At the very last second, just as they were about to reach him, Natsu jumped up and out of the way. Neo Leo and Neo Taurus couldn't stop themselves in time. They collided head on with a loud "BANG" and fell to the ground. Neo Leo moaned and cursed as he rubbed the aching bruise on his head. Neo Taurus just laid down on the ground, dazed and dizzy from the impact.

For added karma, Natsu deliberately landed on top of their heads with as much force as he could, slamming their faces even further into the ground. That attacked was enough to put the Spirits out of commission for a while. As soon as Natsu jumped off of them, they disappeared in a glitter of purple and black lights.

"Too easy." Natsu snarled.

Ivan gritted his teeth as he watched all of this. By now he could see that he wasn't going to capture his prey with brute force. It was a form of combat that the Dragon Slayer was accustomed to. Not to mention, the Dragon Slayer seemed to adapt to any kind of attack that was thrown at him.

Ivan would have to use trickery to take down the sakura haired man. And for Ivan, trickery was something he was an expert at.

Ivan grabbed four keys off of his belt. Natsu turned back to face him, and was shocked to find three more Neo Zodiac Spirits appear out of their own gates. The Spirits were of Virgo, Libra, Aries, and Ophiuchus. And just like with the other Neo Spirits, they looked drastically different from the real Zodiac Spirits.

Neo Aries's skin was tan, her hair was straight and longer, and she wore a tattered wool dress with a large chain around her neck. Neo Libra's hair was green and puffed up like cotton candy. She was dressed in a black, skin tight suit with a matching blind fold, and large, pointed gold boots.

"Ivan can pull off six gates in a row?!" Natsu said to himself. "It took Lucy years before she could do that! Where's he getting all this power?!"

"My faithful servants," Ivan said to his Spirits, "subdue the Dragon Slayer at once."

"Sure thing, Master." Neo Aries sneered. "This'll be fun."

"I've been waiting to dish out some punishment." Neo Virgo said, licking her lips.

All at once, the four newly summoned Spirits charged at Natsu.

"Holy crap!" was all Natsu could say before they attacked.

Natsu only barely managed to avoid being kicked in the chest by Neo Libra by jumping out of the way. At the same time, Neo Virgo summoned her whip and attempted to capture him in its grip. Luckily, Natsu was able to dodge it in midair by bending his body back. However, the moment he landed back on the ground with his hands and sprung himself back onto his feet, Neo Ophiuchus sent out a plethora of stethoscopes and tried to entangle him in them. Natsu saw that he couldn't dodge them all in time. Instead, he lit his whole body up in a blaze of Dragon fire to create a shield around himself. As he had hoped, the stethoscopes all burned up the moment they made contact with the flames.

However, Neo Aries ran around behind Natsu while his attention was focused on Neo Ophiuchus. As Natsu's fire disappeared, she took the chain off her neck and threw like a lasso at him.

The next thing Natsu knew, a metal clasp snapped around his neck and he was yanking back. The sudden pull made him choke as he fell. He grunted in pain as his body made contact with the rock ground. He quickly reached up and attempted to melt the chain off with his magic when a set of cuffs and chains suddenly appeared around his wrists and ankles, forcing him to lay spread-eagle on his back. Natsu looked over and scowled when he saw that Neo Virgo had a set of glowing cuffs in her hands. They matched the ones that were around his limbs.

"These chains can't hold me!" Natsu shouted defiantly.

Natsu growled and summoned forth his Dragon Slayer Magic to melt the chains…

…and then suddenly all the strength went out of him.

He went limp with shock, pain, and fear.

Just seconds before, Neo Aries and Neo Virgo chained the Dragon Slayer up, Neo Ophiuchus had summoned her syringe. It was filled with some kind of dark purple liquid. The moment Natsu was flat on his back, and just as he was about to set himself on fire again, Neo Ophiuchus stabbed the needle of the syringe right into Natsu's abdomen. It pierced through his jacket and went straight into his navel.

Natsu couldn't move. He could hardly breathe. This had caught him by surprise so bad that his mind shut off for a moment. Only his eyes moved, and they moved to look at the spot where he had been stabbed.

"Sorry about this," Neo Ophiuchus sneered, "but it's time for you to be put you under for now. This might hurt a little, so try to stay conscious."

Neo Ophiuchus then pushed the end of the syringe down. Natsu screamed in agony as the purple liquid was injected into his body. It was like a million icy needles were stabbing at him from everywhere inside him. His belly swelled and distended for a moment before Neo Ophiuchus pulled the needle out. His stomach returned to normal, but the pain that injection left behind didn't go away.

Natsu coughed and panted for air. His whole body felt heavy like lead, his limbs ached, his heart thumbed erratically fast, and his abdomen felt horribly stretched. His eyes had a glazed look in them, like he was almost dead. He didn't have the strength to summon his Magic. Whatever Neo Ophiuchus had injected into him had completely sapped him of any strength.

He couldn't move at all.

"Nicely done, my servants." Ivan said, clapping his hands together. "Now chain him up to that shrine."

Natsu was dragged across the ground and up to the alter, unable to fight back. As much as he wanted to fight back, he just couldn't. That poison had worked its way into his system. He was paralyzed, weak, and unable to summon his Magic. All he could do was let these Dark Spirits tie him up inside the middle of that rock circle shrine.

In a matter of minutes, Natsu was chained up like the prisoner he was. His head hung down and his arms and legs were stretched to their limit in the shackles that were bound to the outer ring of the circle.

He was ensnared. Captured.

"Thank you." Ivan said to his Spirits. "You're all dismissed now."

With a swipe of five keys, Ivan closed the gates of the Dark Zodiac Spirits. They all disappeared in a glitter of black and purple lights.

Ivan then turned his attention back to Natsu. He walked up to the Dragon Slayer with a wicked grin on his face. By now, Natsu had sweat dripping down his pale face, and he was still breathing heavily.

Seeing one of the most powerful Fairy Tail wizards in this state made Ivan feel triumphant. So much for the powerful Salamander.

Now that his target had been capture and rendered powerless, Ivan decided to take this moment to gloat.

"I finally got my hands on you," he said evilly. "Oh, what's wrong? Is my Ophiuchus's poison getting to you? That must've really hurt. Not only does it numb your strength, but it also paralyzes your Magic. You should feel the way you do."

Natsu didn't respond. His bangs fell over his eyes and hid them with shadows.

"You know," Ivan continued, "I was planning on storming Fairy Tail and taking a Dragon Slayer by force. But it appeared that luck was on my side. Who would've guess that I would run into the daughter of a powerful Dragon Slayer? All I had to do was snag a piece of her clothing, and you came running without a moment of hesitation. It's laughable that you were so easily duped."

"Alu."

Ivan stopped his gloated and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Natsu had spoken. His voice was weak and rough, but he had spoken nonetheless.

"Alu." Natsu repeated, trying to raise his voice. "Where's…Alu? Tell me."

"You're still worried about that brat?" Ivan questioned, genuinely confused. "You're about to have your soul stolen and all you can think about is the girl? I don't understand why you care about that little misfortune anyway. She's hardly worth anything if you ask me."

Natsu gritted his teeth. Those words only added fuel to the fire he was feeling inside him.

"A little weakling like her didn't deserve to be in Fairy Tail or any other guild." Ivan said. "Wizards are only useful when they have power."

"Is that why you implanted a lacrima inside your own son?" Natsu growled savagely. "Just because Laxus was weak back then, didn't mean he was useless."

"You're one to talk, Dragon Slayer." Ivan replied. "I bet you and that blonde wizard had a Dragon Slayer lacrima implanted in your daughter before she was even born."

"Never!" Natsu tensed, his shout was weak. "I would never do that to Alu! And neither would Lucy! The power Alu has is hers alone! It's always been in her blood!"

"So, you're perfectly content with having a dead-weight of a daughter?" Ivan sneered.

"Alu's not dead-weight!" Natsu shot back. "She was never dead-weight to me, or Lucy, or anyone else in Fairy Tail!"

"Of course," Ivan grinned mockingly, "because everyone in Fairy Tail 'loves' their members no matter how pathetic they are. You know that keeping weak members in strong guild will only put you in peril. Just like now."

"How's that?" Nastus snarled. He was really getting annoyed at this point.

"C'mon," Ivan replied, "it's because of that little brat that you're in this mess. You just couldn't abandon her even if you wanted to. Because Fairy Tail never leaves any of its members behind. And that's what got you ensnared in my trap."

There was a short silence.

"You shut your mouth." Natsu glowered. "All this garbage you're spewing is makin' me sick. I came after Alu because it was my choice. And I have no regrets."

Finally, Natsu lifted his head up so he could look Ivan straight in the eye. The expression on his face was full of determined sincerity.

"I never once saw Alu as a misfortune," he said. "And I defiantly never saw her as a commodity. All that stuff you say about her being weak and useless is a load of crap. You don't know anything about her. She's one of a kind. She works hard. Puts her heart and soul into everything she does. And she never gives up, no matter what. She may not be strong in Magic, but she has the most powerful heart I've ever seen. So what if she has a Magic Deficiency? That makes no difference to me. I wouldn't even care if she was born without Magic. I'm just happy to have her in my life. Nothing can ever change the love I have for her. I'm more than proud to call myself her father."

There was another long silence. Natsu didn't lift the conviction from his face for even a second. Not even the weariness from the poison made him lose spirit. He meant every word about what he said. Nothing was going to change his mind.

Finally, Ivan gave a snarled.

"Well, aren't you sentimental," he said harshly. "But you're also delusional. And I've grown tired of this idle chat. Say good night, Dragon Slayer."

Natsu braced himself for what was to come as he watched Ivan leapt back and summon a black tentacle. He then released it, and it headed straight for Natsu's heart.

Just a few more seconds, and Natsu would be soulless.

However, before that tentacle connected with Natsu's chest, there was a loud explosion. Something burst through the ceiling of the cave and shot straight down through the rain of falling rocks. White fire cut the soul-stealing tentacle in half just in the nick of time. The part that was severed away from the main body writhed for a moment like a dying snake before disappearing completely.

Ivan staggered back in surprise before looking back in time to see a pink and green haired girl land gracefully on her feet in front of the Fire Dragon Slayer. Natsu gasped in shock when he saw the person who saved him stand up, wipe away some tears from her face, and place herself protectively between him and Ivan.

"Alu!" Natsu exclaimed.

It was Alu. No doubt about that. But how did she come from?

"Oh, it's you again." Ivan glared at the little female wizard. "Guess I shouldn't be too surprised, seeing as how stubborn you are. Though I must say, you're looking kind of different. You certainly didn't have that eye before."

Alu just scowled viciously at Ivan, ignoring his comment. It was clear to see that she was very, very angry.

"If you or your Spirits ever lay a hand on my dad again," she growled fiercely, "I'll kill you!"

"You really think you can take me on, girl?" Ivan scorned. "I can easily destroy you in less than a second if I wanted to."

Alu took a firm fighting stance. She wasn't going to back down.

"Hit me with your best shot!" she challenged. "I can take it! I won't let you steal my dad's soul!"

"Then let's see if you can stand up to this!" Ivan shouted.

Ivan took grabbed two keys off his belt and swiped them through the air.

"Open, Gates of the Dark Maiden and Ram!" he commanded. "Virgo and Aries!"

In an instant, Neo Virgo and Neo Aries appeared. Alu kept her wits and got ready to attack.

"Alu, no!" Natsu strained to yell. "Get out of here!"

"No way!" Alu refused. "I didn't come all this way just to leave you behind! I can take these guys!"

"Heh," Neo Virgo grinned wickedly. "I'd like to see you try, little Dragneel. Let's see how long you can hold out before you beg for mercy."

Alu narrowed her eyes.

"Bring it on!" she goaded. "I'm all fired up!"

Alu leapt into the fight without a second thought.


	28. Chapter 28: A Desperate Attempt

**Chapter 28**

 **A Desperate Attempt**

"FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!"

Alu's shout echoed off of the walls of the cavern. Whips of white flames came from her hands, and she swung her arms down and around, making the fire crisscross with powerful intensity.

Natsu watched with amazement. He had never seen such a pure white flame before. Not only that, but something in it felt different. It felt like fire, but at the same time it didn't. It felt like some kind of alien fire.

Since when did Alu gain this power?

Neo Virgo and Neo Aries both jumped away from Alu's attack. Neo Aries then tumbled behind Alu grabbed the chain around her neck. She prepared to throw it at Alu.

Natsu saw it coming. It was the same attack that Neo Aries had used on him. They were going to try to do the same thing to her as they did to him. He couldn't let that happen, but there was nothing he could do. He was chained up.

Still, he had to do something.

Natsu was still feeling weak, but his concern for his daughter was greater than his fatigue. He fought threw it with all the willpower he had.

"Alu, behind you!" he managed to yell.

Alu's sensitive ears heard her father's voice and eyes flashed in alert. She whipped around in time to grab Neo Aries chain. Seeing Neo Aries caught off guard by this, Alu yanked the chain out from the Dark Spirit's hands.

"My turn." Alu snarled.

Alu whirled the chain around like a loop-less lasso for a second before throwing it straight at Neo Aries. The chain wrapped around the Dark Spirit tightly, and Alu took the opportunity to jerk on the binding hard, pulling Neo Aries down to the ground. To make sure her opponent was out of commission for good, Alu made a single leap. At the height of her jump, she headed fist-first down towards Neo Aries and landed a solid punch to the back. Neo Aries cried out in pain, and Alu hand-sprung back onto her feet.

Then in a flash of purple and black light, Neo Aries was gone. As she vanished, the chain in Alu's hands disappeared as well.

Alu couldn't help but wrinkle her nose. She really didn't like that Aries at all. She preferred the sweet, helpful, polite Aries. The real Aries.

Of course, Alu couldn't think about that right now. She turned her attention to Neo Virgo.

"Pretty impressive, little Dragneel." Neo Virgo said, licking her lips in a seductive fashion. "But do you really think you can take me on?"

"I beat you once!" Alu shot back. "I'll just have to do it again!"

"Then let's have some fun. Only this time, I'll be the one enjoying it. 'Cuz I'll be giving you a healthy dose of punishment."

"I don't think so!" Alu cried out furiously.

Alu immediately charged in for close-quarters combat. Neo Virgo summoned her lightning whip and lashed it at Alu. Alu saw it coming and quickly back flipped out of the way. She then hand-sprung back on her feet and darted forward again. This time, she was going to attack with some whips of her own.

"FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!"

Alu's attacked collided with Neo Virgo's. She was forced to come to a stop and use her fire whips defense instead of offense like she had hoped. Because now, Neo Virgo was striking blows down on her hard and fast, trying to break through her guard. The best thing that the young wizard girl could do was keep that whip at bay until she could see a weakness in her opponent's attacks.

Alu had to think. It was clear that this new Neo Virgo was stronger than the one she had taken down. Not to mention, unlike last time, they were inside a cave. One wrong move, and the whole place would come crashing down, burying everyone inside it alive.

Alu had to rethink her strategy. There had to be a way she could defeat this Neo Virgo.

Meanwhile, Natsu was watching all this with concern. Alu had already used two Dragon Slayer techniques. He knew from past experience that if she used too much, Alu would be out of Dragon Slayer Magic. She looked like she was already at her half-way point. Natsu could start to feel his physical strength return with every passing minute, but his Magic wasn't doing the same. Unless he could get out of his chains, there was nothing he could do.

Oh, he wished more than anything that he was free so that he could help his daughter.

"Natsu!" a small voice called out.

Natsu looked up away from the fight and saw two Exceeds flying down from the busted hole in the ceiling towards him.

"Happy?" he said weakly.

Happy and Violet immediately flew over to the two chains that bound Natsu's wrists. Happy handled the one on Natsu's left, when Violet worked on the one on Natsu's right. They both began to tug and strain on the chains in attempt to get them off of the one they held captive.

"Happy, what are you doing here?" Natsu asked, wincing as the tug of the chains pulled his already-stretched-to-the-limit arms.

"I'm sorry, Natsu!" Happy said, desperately apologetic. "Alu was gung-ho on saving you! And you know her, I couldn't change her mind!"

"Wait, you brought her here?!"

"Actually, I did!" Violet admitted. "But Happy's right, she was bent on saving you!"

"Who are you?!" Natsu asked, now thoroughly confused and distressed.

"I'm Violet!" the purple Exceed replied. "I'll explain more later! Right now, let's get you out of here!"

"That's not going to happen," a sinister voice said.

Natsu, Happy, and Violet all looked up in time to see Ivan release a black tentacle from his right hand straight towards them. It was aiming straight at Natsu's heart.

"ALU!" Violet screamed.

Alu heard her friend's cry and turned in time to see what was going on. With one last whip attack, Alu knocked Neo Virgo's lightning whip away and darted towards her father and the two Exceeds.

"GUYS, WATCH OUT!" she shrieked.

In less than a second, Alu had leapt in front of Ivan's targets and summoned a large amount of Dragon Slayer Magic to create a kind of barrier. The white fire expanded out and burned up the black tentacle in just a matter of seconds. Ivan wielded back and gripped his hand as the ivory flames traveled up the tentacle and managed to singe his hand a bit.

At the same time, Alu grimaced and fell to her hands and knees. At the same time, her fiery shield dissipated.

"Alu!" Natsu shouted when he saw her fall.

Alu panted heavily for air and shut her eyes tightly. That took more Magic Power than she originally intended. She was so desperate to stop Ivan that she overdid it. Now she was paying for it. That shield, along with those whip spar with Virgo, completely shot her Dragon Slayer Magic.

"You little whelp!" Ivan snarled savagely at Alu. "Why must you always interfere?!"

Alu opened her eyes and scowled at Ivan.

"I've got to stand my ground or he's going to attack Dad!" she said desperately to herself.

Slowly, Alu rose. She was still struggling for air, but her determination forced her to get up and plant her feet firmly in the ground.

"What are you doing, you horrible little girl?!" Ivan glowered.

"Standing between you and my dad, that's what!" Alu replied in the same tone, only hers was weaker. "Beat me all you want; I'm not giving up!"

"Alu, no!" Natsu raised his voice commandingly. "Just get out of here!"

"No way!" Alu said, not turning around to look at her father. "I'm not leaving you here!"

"Alu, as your dad, I'm ordering you to get out of here! Don't worry about me, just save yourself!"

"NEVER!" Alu shrieked with furious conviction.

Natsu jolted in surprise. While Alu had talked back to him many times before, she had never outright yelled at him before.

He could tell that she was serious.

"I'm not running away!" Alu shouted strongly. "You taught me this, Dad! You taught me to always be strong! To never give up the fight no matter what! I'll never run away! And I'll never run from a self-proclaimed powerful wizard who's really a COWARD!"

Alu's last word was directed straight at Ivan, and he knew it. She shot him a nasty look as she said it.

Ivan gritted his teeth so hard with fury that small pieces of them broke off.

"SILENCE!" he roared.

Immediately, Ivan summoned forth five streams of what seemed like an endless amount of shikigami dolls and shot them straight at Alu. Alu screamed in pain as they hit her with merciless blows. They knocked her away from Natsu, Happy, and Violet and straight into the wall of the cave.

"ALU!" Natsu shouted, struggling to break his chains.

Ivan didn't stop with his attack. The pink-haired girl had made him so angry that he wanted to make her suffer. Again and again, he pelted Alu with powerful blows of shikigami whips. Alu twisted and writhed in agony, unable to hold back her cries and shouts as those things attacked her.

Hearing his own daughter screaming, and seeing her getting beaten like this made Natsu both frightened and angry.

How DARE Ivan attack his daughter like this right in front of him! Natsu wanted nothing more than to burn this horrible man into a blazing oblivion! Not even leaving behind a pile of ashes!

With on last brutal attack, Ivan slammed Alu up against the wall again, where she gasped in pain and fell to the ground.

"YOU DARE CALL ME A COWARD, YOU PATHETIC BRAT!" Ivan raged. "I'M MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU'LL EVER BE! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A WEAKLING WHO HAPPENS TO BE A CELESTIAL DRAGON SLAYER!"

Alu groaned, fighting off the agony that racked her body. She then raised her head and glared at Ivan as best she could.

"All you talk about…" Alu strained, "is that stupid Slayer. Well, I'm sick of it."

Weakly, Alu lifted herself up and struggled to stand up again. This shocked everyone in the room. They could see the energy it was costing her just to stand up, but she was doing it anyway.

Alu was relentless. Even after getting beaten down and bruised, she was still getting up.

"Are you insane?!" Ivan growled with bewilderment. "If you continue to fight, you're going to die!"

Alu took in a few deep breaths before looking Ivan straight in the eye.

"I won't die," she declared weakly. "Not until…my family is safe. Safe…from you."

Ivan scowled.

"If that's the way you want it, so be it!" he said. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Ivan then unleashed his shikigamis up into the air. Alu looked up to see what was happening, and her blood ran cold. Ivan was forming a shikigami orb bomb, and its target was locked right onto her.

"ALU, RUN!" Natsu cried.

Alu was about to obey her father's order, when something inside her key pouch glowed. At the same time, she as if something had entered her body through her hip. She jolted as the power traveled up through her and into her chest. She then shrieked with pain and grabbed the upper part of her left arm.

Once again, images began to flash in her mind.

* * *

 _A stream of golden chains glowing with Magic._

 _A black Dragon with blue patterns becoming pinned down those same chains inside of a large mountain. Although it struggled against them, it was all in vain._

 _The Dragon slowly wavered before falling to the ground._

 _The mountain closed up._

 _The image of the night sky, the sensation of falling._

 _Darkness slowly swallowing up the vision._

* * *

"ALU, LOOK OUT!"

The sound of Violet shrieking snapped Alu back to reality. She looked up in horror just as the Shikigami Bomb shot it's beam straight at her. It was too late for her to dodge it. For a split second, she thought that this was the end of her.

But before that attack reached Alu, something pink and fluffy suddenly wrapped around her in a thick cloud of cotton. The beam hit that instead of her.

"What?!" Ivan staggered.

Natsu, Happy and Violet all stared in both shock and bewilderment as the cloud of wool disappeared. To their intense relief, Alu was unharmed. More than that, someone had come to her rescue. That someone was now standing protectively in front of her, her arms spread out in an defensive position.

"Aries." Alu exhaled gratefully. She had never been happier to see her friend until now.

"Oh, I'm sorry I'm late, Alu." Aries said, glancing innocently back at her key holder.

"Heh, don't be ridiculous." Alu grinned. "You made it just in time."

"You just get some rest." Aries said. "I'll try and handle this."

"But Aries…"

Before Alu could protest any further, Aries took a fighting stance.

"Oh, another Celestial Spirit." Ivan droned. "Surprised you were able to get her, with you master being beaten and weakened."

"I opened my own Gate." Aries explained, her face hardening a little bit. "I'm here to protect Alu. And I will defend her."

"Aries!" Happy suddenly cried. "Heads up!"

Aries turned sharply to her right when she caught something out of her peripheral vision. Neo Virgo had jumped into the air and was about to bring her lightning whip down on her. Aries saw it coming, gave Alu a quick push, knocking her sideways and to the ground. She then jumped out of the way, just as the whip was about to reach her. Aries then cartwheeled a safe distance away and prepared to attack. She had learned from her last encounter with this version of Virgo to not leave herself open again.

She counter-attacked just in time.

"GO, WOOL BOMB!" she commanded.

In an instant, a large cloud of fluffy pink wool encased Neo Virgo, leaving only the end of her whip dangling out. It was then that Aries didn't know what else to do. All she could do was keep Neo Virgo contained for a small amount of time.

But Alu resolved that conundrum. She quickly got to her feet and prepared herself.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

With that mighty summon of Magic, a jet-stream of brilliantly blazing white fire shot from Alu's mouth and straight at the pink cloud. The moment it made contact, the whole thing blew up like a large bomb. Only this time, the aftershock was so great that it shook the whole cavern and sent Aries flying back by accident. She fell on her side just a few yards in front of the shrine Natsu was chained to. She laid there, stunned.

Natsu couldn't help but stare in wonder. He didn't know Aries wool was perfect for explosion attacks.

How did Alu learn that?

Ivan stumbled back from the attack. How could he have forgotten about that? Aries wasn't strong on her own, but her wool paired with Alu's fire made her rather formidable in that regard.

Ivan had enough. He was going to end this now. And the first thing he was going to do was take Aries out of the equation, permanently.

He snatched a key off his belt and held it out.

"OPEN, GATE OF THE DARK LION!" he summoned. "LEO!"

In an instant, that same dark version of Leo appeared.

"Destroy Aries!" Ivan shouted.

Neo Leo only gave a creepy grin before charging at the defenseless Aries.

"ARIES!" Violet shrieked with terror. "LOOK OUT!"

But Neo Leo was already closing in on the Golden Ram Spirit. He raised his fist and it burst into life with Dark Regulus.

Aries screamed in fear, shut her eyes, and raised her arms in a futile attempt to defend herself. But she knew that once that attack hit her, that would be it.

Neo Leo brought his fist down…

…but Aries felt nothing.

What she did hear, though, was a powerful blow just in front of her.

She snapped eyes open in alarm. What she saw, was one of the most terrifying thing she couldn't have ever imagined. It was like time had slowed down for her, Natsu, Happy, and Violet.

When she saw her dearest friend in peril, Alu had somehow found the strength to bolt across the cave and leap in the way of Neo Leo's attack. However, she didn't have any Dragon Slayer Magic left to summon a barrier again. Instead, used herself as a human shield and took the blow.

Neo Leo had hit her straight in the stomach.

What was worse was that as soon as Neo Leo's attack hit her, a small burst of blood came out of Alu's abdomen.

Natsu's eyes widened in horror when he saw that. This was by far the worst thing he had seen yet.

Alu had been injured. She had been injured right in front of him.

"ALU, NOOOO!" Natsu yelled.

To make matters worse, Neo Leo took the opportunity to kick Alu in the stomach. Alu was sent straight up towards the ceiling of the cave. The air was knocked completely out of her as she slammed into it. She then fell back down to the ground below, just a few yards in front of Natsu.

Alu laid where she was, gasping in agony. She wrapped her arms around her middle, twisting and curling in pain.

"Hmph," Neo Leo scoffed. "Foolish girl. That's what you get for getting in my way."

Aries, shocked and horrified, immediately got up and ran to Alu's side and knelt down. Violet quickly flew over to Alu and landed beside her, her eyes wide with terror. Happy just stared with petrified eyes. He was unable to move.

"Alu!" Aries tearfully cried. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"I-It's not your fault, Aries." Alu groaned. "I'm okay."

Unfortunately, Alu coughed up blood that splattered onto the ground. She gritted her teeth and struggled to get up. But it was clear she was in utter agony, even more than before.

Seeing the little nuisance in such pain made Ivan lifted up his head and laughed manically.

"Oh, how noble for a weakling!" Ivan said, mockingly. "Using herself as a shield to protect a measly tool! How amusing! If I had known that was all it took to kill her, I would've done it sooner!"

Natsu's eyes flashed with unspeakable rage and he struggled against his binding with vicious determination.

"IVAN, YOU BASTARD!" he roared. "LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE!"

"She's the one who started this fight, Dragon Slayer." Ivan grinned wickedly. "I'm just following through. Besides, she's the reason you're in this mess in the first place, isn't she?"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Natsu shot back angrily. "THIS ISN'T HER FAULT!"

"Oh, relax." Ivan replied shrewdly. "I'll make sure she doesn't share the same fate as you. She'll at least move onto the afterlife. I promise I'll make her death a swift one. That is once I'm finished with you. I think it'll be more appropriate if she was to die somewhat by your hand, as you are part of the reason she came into this world in the first place."

Natsu growled savagely at that remark, but Ivan took no notice.

"Now, where were we? Ah, yes, now I remember. You might want to prepare yourself, Dragon Slayer. Soon you'll just be an empty shell."

Ivan stretched out his hand and prepared to cast the Soul Stealer Curse.

"Dad, no!" Alu moaned fearfully.

Alu opened one eye and looked down at her torso. Nervous sweat began to roll down her face when she saw her shirt was stained red and soaked with blood.

Wait, her blood! And she still had her Celestial Magic!

Those two details combined gave Alu an idea. It was desperate one, and a certain Spirit was going to kill her for doing this, but this was her only chance to save her father. She had to take it.

Mustering up all of the strength she had, Alu seized a key off of her belt and rose to her feet, fighting off the pain that threatened to make her collapse again. She stood up between her father and Ivan. This made everyone stop and look at her. Ivan was so surprised by this that he even stopped midway through his Soul Stealing command. Natsu became worried when Alu stood up. He could tell she was doing all she could to stay on her feet.

"I'm…not…done…yet!" Alu panted heavily with determination.

Alu then raised her key up into the air.

"Alu!" Natsu cried. "What are you-!"

"OPEN, GATE OF THE WATER BEARER!" ALu screeched. "AQUARIUS!"

With that command; and to the horror of Natsu, Aries, Happy and Violet; Alu drove the end of the key into the gash in her stomach and turned it!

"ALU!" Natsu screamed with terrified shock.

Alu's cried out in excruciating pain as a Magic Celestial Gate emerged from the center of her body and Aquarius appeared out of it. The young mage then fell straight into Aries's arms, panting for precious air.

Everyone in the room stared in disbelief.

 _"She used her own blood to summon Aquarius?!"_ Ivan thought to himself, absolutely dumbfounded.

Aquarius, having sensed that Alu summoned her by a most revolting manner, turned around sharply.

"Disgusting little impudent!" she raged. "What were you thinking of summoning me from-!"

Aquarius rant instantly stopped when she saw Alu's condition. Her faced changed dramatically from angrily irritated to very, very worried.

Alu looked up at Aquarius with weakness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," the pink-haired girl said, her voice weary and tearful. "I was desperate. You can kill me for that later…if you want. But please, Aquarius. I'm begging you. Save my dad. Please."

For a moment, Aquarius didn't move. Natsu stared in disbelief when he saw the Water Spirit. How did Alu summon Aquarius? Aquarius's Key was broken the last time he checked, and there was no way Alu couldn't opened Aquarius's Gate by her own volition without the key.

Then Aquarius moved. She turned around menacingly and looked at Ivan. Her eyes were blazing with hatred, and had a desire to kill.

Then without warning, Aquarius summoned her silver urn and a blast of powerful, pure blue water shot from it. It headed straight for Neo Leo and hit him with such force that he couldn't hold his ground. He was swept away and slammed straight into the wall of the cavern.

Aquarius then turned her fire on Ivan. He almost didn't put up a shikigami shield in time as her waves of fury closed in on him.

While Aquarius was busy defending the group, Alu reached for one more key.

"Alu, you shouldn't!" Aries advised franticly.

"I've got to." Alu said, her voice sounding more like a whisper. "I've still got some Magic left."

Alu then held the key up and summoned the last bit of her Celestial Magic.

"Open, Gate of the Twins, Gemini!"

In an instant, Gemini appear in the form of Alu herself. The Twin Spirits had sensed Alu's danger and immediately assumed the form of their master. They also looked just as worried as everyone else the instant they saw her condition.

"Gemini, please" Alu begged, "save my dad. Melt the chains. Melt the chains."

"Sure thing, Alu!" Gemini nodded understandingly. "Leave it to us."

Using a copy of Alu's Dragon Slayer Magic, Gemini worked quickly to melt the chains that bound Natsu to the shrine. They started with his right wrist and worked around counter clockwise. Thankfully, not a lot of Magic was needed for this task.

Natsu let his limbs drop down the moment the restraints holding them were gone. He never once took his eyes off Alu. The moment he was free, he quickly staggered away from the shrine and over to his daughter. Gemini gave one, "Piri – Piri", before closing their Gate and disappearing.

As soon as he reached Alu, Natsu fell to his knees and took her from Aries's arms. He scooped her up in his own with tender love and care, but also urgency.

"Alu, talk to me!" he said franticly.

"Dad..." Alu moaned. She was having a hard time staying conscious now.

Natsu scowled and gritted his teeth.

Ivan dared to harm his daughter like this and take pleasure in it! It was unforgivable! Natsu wanted revenge!

However, even he couldn't deny that the effects of Neo Ophiuchus's injection hadn't warn off. He could at least move now, but it wasn't to the point where he could fight. Not only that, but he couldn't summon any of his Magic.

"Natsu!" Aquarius suddenly called out, getting his attention. "Get Alu and yourself somewhere safe! I'll hold these guys off for as long as I can! And don't worry, I'll close my Gate as soon as you're safe away! NOW, GO!"

Natsu didn't hesitate. He knew Aquarius was right. As much as he wanted to destroy Ivan for what he did to his daughter, he couldn't deny that Alu needed him more.

He picked Alu up in his arms and got to his feet. Aries also stood up while Happy and Violet summoned their Area Wings.

"Thanks, Aquarius, I owe you one!" Natsu said. "And great to see ya again!"

"JUST GO!" Aquarius ordered harshly.

Natsu obeyed and ran toward the nearest exit with Aries, Happy and Violet close behind him.

This exit wasn't the one that Natsu came in from. This one led further into the mountain. But he didn't care. He just had to find some place safe so he could tend to Alu properly.

He felt sick to his stomach whenever he heard her moan and groan with discomfort. And he felt a horrible stab in his chest when she involuntarily grabbed hold of his jacket. She held onto it tightly, like she was seeking comfort from it. From him.

"Hang in there, Alu!" Natsu encouraged. "You're going to be fine, I promise! Just hold on!"


	29. Chapter 29: A Father's Gift

**Chapter 29**

 **A Father's Gift**

As soon as Natsu, Alu, Aries, Happy and Violet had gotten a good head start were as safe away as they could be, Aquarius let out a deep exhale and stopped her attack. She then immediately closed her Gate, disappearing in a light of water droplets.

Ivan sensed the Water Spirit disappear and lowered his shikigami shield. He quickly noticed that there was no one else left in the room except for him and Neo Leo. He shook with rage and yelled into the emptiness of the chamber. He whipped around sharply to his Spirit servant.

"Neo Leo!" he ordered sharply. "Hunt the Dragon Slayer down!"

Neo Leo, although weary and annoyed, didn't dare disobey his master. He just got up from his spot and nodded.

"As you wish, master," he gritted.

Ivan then pulled five more keys off his belt and clutched them angrily in his hands. The keys belonged to dark versions of Sagittarius, Cancer, Capricorn, Gemini, and Scorpio.

With a forced swish of his arm, Ivan opened all five Gates at once. In the blink of an eye, the Celestials Spirits appeared. Neo Sagittarius looked like another carbon copy of an over-the-top muscular centaur. Neo Scorpio looked like a little boy who was an aristocratic voodoo priest. Neo Gemini were two identical children with blue hair and big onyx eyes. Neo Capricorn a small brown goat dressed up in a yellow suit. Lastly, Neo Cancer looked like a break-dancer with an outrageous afro and oversized crab claws for hands.

"The same goes for you!" Ivan barked. "I don't care what happens to the brat or the Exceeds, but I want that Dragon Slayer alive! NOW FIND HIM!"

"As you wish, sir." Neo Capricorn replied.

"Alright!" Neo Cancer screeched enthusiastically. "This'll be totally rad, man!"

Without another word, the Neo Zodiac Spirits all headed out.

As soon as they were out of the room, Ivan suddenly grimaced. He dropped to his knees and gripped his right arm. Gritting his teeth, he rolled up his sleeve.

A patch of ugly yellow blotch was beginning to grow up along his lower arm. On top of that, but some blood vessels underneath were starting to swell and show.

The sight of it made Ivan cringe.

* * *

Natsu and his group kept on running down the hall. They wanted to get as far away from Ivan as they could. At the same time, they knew they had to find a place to stop. Alu wasn't doing very good, and she needed medical treatment right away.

Happy and Violet flew on ahead of Natsu and Aries, their eyes franticly scanning for any place that they could use to hide.

After a while, they began to hear footsteps behind them.

"They're getting closer!" Aries warned. "I can sense them!"

"Dammit!" Natsu clenched. "We gotta find some place to hide and fast!"

Fortunately, Happy rounded a corner and saw something that made him exclaim with relief. He quickly flew back to the others.

"Natsu!" Happy shouted. "Over here! Hurry!"

Happy disappeared behind the corner again.

Natsu rounded the same corner and saw that Happy was hovering next to an opening in the side of the rock wall. He and quickly went inside with Happy following him him. Violet and Aries immediately followed him. Once they were all in, Aries, Happy, and Violet all worked together to move a large slap of stone over the doorway, closing it off. From the outside, it looked like just another part of the stone wall. The small cave would've been completely dark if it weren't for some fluorescent crystals that shone brightly and lit the place up in a soft violet glow.

Once the entrance was sealed shut, they all dropped down to the ground on their knees and fell still for a moment.

For a few sickening moments, the group listened as the sound of footsteps got closer.

"They're getting closer!" Happy whined fearfully.

It was then that Violet jolted.

"Aries!" she exclaimed. "If you can sense them, then I think they can sense you, too!"

"Oh no!" Aries squealed. "I'm very sorry! I'll leave right away!"

"Thanks for your help, Aries." Natsu said to the Celestial Spirit. "I owe you one."

In a puff of pink smoke, Aries disappeared.

A few seconds after she did, the sound of the enemies' footsteps stopped right outside their hiding spot. Happy and Violet cupped their hands over their mouths, and Natsu held onto Alu tightly against him, making her squirm a bit in discomfort.

"Where'd they go?!" Neo Cancer's voice shouted.

"I don't know!" Neo Scorpio replied, frustrated. "They just disappeared!"

"Well don't just stand there!" Neo Leo ordered. "Find them and get that Dragon Slayer!"

Without another moment of hesitation, the Neo Zodiac Spirits ran off. Natsu, Happy, and Violet listened very carefully at the footsteps hurrying away.

In about a minute, there was silence.

"I think they're gone now." Violet whispered.

Natsu exhaled deeply, and Happy relaxed.

"We should be safe here, at least for a while." Happy said.

Natsu then turned his attention to his daughter. He carefully set Alu down and leaned her up against a large boulder in the corner to examine the extent of her injuries. Even the dim light, he could see just how beat up she was. He scowled when he saw that she had sustained quite a few scratches and bruises from that fight with Ivan. She was also very pale and cold sweat was rolling down her face. That was a sure sign that she had used up too much of her Magic Power.

But what worried Natsu the most was that her white shirt was stained deep red. She was covering it up with her right arm, but it was clear to see that it was causing her a lot of pain. And her left arm laid limply on the ground beside her.

Happy and Violet walked up to the two Dragneels, their faces clearly showing just how worried they were.

"Alu?" Natsu gently shook her. "C'mon, talk to me. Can you hear me?"

Slowly, Alu opened her eyes. Her vision kept fading in and out of focus, but she knew that her father was in front of her.

"I…I'm okay, Dad." Alu grimaced, her voice sounded rough. "I just need to rest for a moment."

"Yeah, right." Natsu replied sarcastically. "I'm starting to think that you're trying to get yourself killed."

"I came to save you." Alu glowered. "I don't enjoy getting beaten to a pulp, you know."

Natsu just sighed heavily and shook his head.

"I'm the Dad," he mumbled. "I'm the one who should be saving my family. But we'll discuss that later."

The Dragon Slayer then lifted up his right hand. Now that the effects of Neo Ophiuchus's poison were starting to completely wear off, he was able to summon a little bit of his Magic again. It took more effort than usual, but he was able to ignite a small, bright ball of honest red fire began to glow in his palm.

"Eat up," he said, offering the flame to his daughter. "You're going to need your strength. I can't help your Celestial Magic, but I can at least help your Dragon Slayer Magic. Just take it slowly though. You don't wanna get a tummy-ache."

Alu nodded weakly and opened her mouth as wide as she could. She then began to consume her father's flames. The streams of fire made their way to her mouth and down her throat at a very slow, unsteady rate. It was getting easier to swallow as she continued to eat the fire, and she was starting to feel some of her strength returning. Color was also beginning to come back into her face as her father's flames began to revive her.

When she had eaten enough fire, she exhaled deeply and leaned back. She immediately lurched forward again and gritted in pain. She tightened her hold on her stomach with her right hand and tightened her left fist.

Natsu gently pushed his daughter back up against the rock and grabbed her right arm to remove it. Alu resisted purely out of reaction.

"Just let me take a look." Natsu ordered, his voice firm but kind.

Alu obeyed and pulled her arm away.

Natsu's eyes widened a bit when he saw that her white sleeveless was cut clean through the middle. He lifted her shirt up just enough to see the extent of the injury. A cold wave of concern shot through him when he saw that there was a long gash across her abdomen.

That Dark Leo really got her good.

Luckily, it wasn't as bad as Natsu had previously thought. Regardless, it was still bleeding.

"Happy," Natsu said urgently, turning to the little blue Exceed next to him. "Do you have any bandages?"

"No, Natsu." Happy replied worriedly, paling at the sight of Alu's injury. "I'm sorry, but if I had known this would happen I would've brought some."

"Violet, do you have any bandages?"

"No, I don't." Violet shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Dad, it's just a scratch." Alu protested. "I'll be fine."

"That's more than just a scratch, Alu." Natsu said. "We've got to at least stop the bleeding. Oh, if only Wendy was here. She could fix this in just seconds."

Natsu clutched at his scarf around his neck in distress as he tried to think of something. But what could he use?

Wait, his scarf!

Natsu looked down at the white muffler with an expression of revelation.

"Thanks, Igneel," he whispered.

Alu's eyes widened in surprise when she saw her father take the scarf off of his neck and began brought it down to wrap around her waist. What's more, he did without hesitation. Alu knew how protective her father was about that scarf, and how much it meant to him.

So why did he just take it off like that?

"Dad, wait, what are you doing?!" Alu said quickly, pushing the scarf back. "That's the scarf Igneel gave you!"

"I know," Natsu replied, "but you need it more than I do right now."

"But you told me how much Igneel meant to you! I don't want to stain a precious memento!"

Natsu brought his right hand to her face and lifted her head so that she could look him in the eye. His expression showed that he was calm.

"Alu, listen," he said slowly and caringly, "Igneel gave this to me as a gift because I was his son. It's a father's gift. And now, as your father, I'm giving it to you. Like I said, you need it more than I do. Don't worry about staining it. We can get it out later. But right now, just take it."

Alu looked down at the scarf and bit her lip. The emotion of the moment was starting to get to her and she felt like crying. She swallowed hard to force back the urge and nodded.

"Okay, I'll take it," she said softly.

Natsu nodded and immediately wrapped the precious scarf around his daughter's waist. He made sure to tie the knot securely so that it wouldn't come loose. Once he was done, he sat next to Alu and leaned back on the same boulder she was resting up against. Happy flew over to Natsu and set himself down into the Dragon Slayer's lap. Natsu responded by hugging the little Exceed. Violet hovered over to Alu and the girl reached out to welcome the Exceed onto her lap.

For a moment, everyone just sat still and said nothing.

After a while, Natsu felt like this was the perfect time to get some answers out of his daughter.

"So, Alu, you mind telling me why you ran off in the first place?" he asked. "Rogue said you didn't run away, but he refused to tell me anything else. So, do you care to tell me yourself?"

Alu said nothing. She just made a bit of a face.

At last, she reached over to her key pouch and felt around for a certain key. Natsu glanced over just in time to see her pull out a golden key. She brought it over to him and displayed it in the palm of her hand.

Natsu's eyes widened in shock. Alu was holding Aquarius's Key. Only it wasn't broken like he remembered it being the last time he saw it. It looked good as new.

"This is the reason I left." Alu said dully. "I overheard you and Mom talking about Aquarius the other night and I got the idea of repairing the key for her. So I, along with Aquarius and Aries, traveled to the Valley of Gates to fix it. I wanted it to be surprise, so I told Rogue not to say anything when he met up with you guys."

Natsu reached over and took the key out of Alu's hand. He stared at it with an impressed expression on his face.

"So that's how you were able to summon Aquarius," he said, turning the key around to inspect it.

Alu just nodded. Natsu held the key for just a minute longer before handing it back to his daughter. Alu simply took the key and put it back in her key pouch.

"Why didn't you just tell me what you were doing when I caught up with you in Onibus?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alu frowned. She then glanced away before mumbling, "You wouldn't have listened to me."

Natsu looked over at her with a stern expression.

"What does that mean?" he asked sharply.

Alu gave a pained scowl.

"I know you thought I ran away," she said bitterly. "And considering all the trouble I was in the day before; you wouldn't have believed me. You would've dragged me back to Magnolia and I would've been suspended from the guild. I heard you talking to Laxus. I know what he said."

"So let me guess," Natsu said, "you thought that if you completed this quest, then you would finally be accepted as a Fairy Tail wizard?"

Alu frowned miserably.

"Alu, you didn't have to put yourself through this." Natsu continued. "And you certainly didn't have to put yourself through that torture back there."

"Yes, I did." Alu muttered.

"No, you didn't." Natsu said, a little more firmly. "You didn't deserve to get beaten like that."

"It wasn't because I thought I needed to be punished." Alu interjected, grimacing. "I had to prove something."

This made Natsu fall silent for a moment. He turned and looked at Alu. The first thing he noticed was that there were tears brimming her eyes. They were trying to bust through her resistance, but Alu fought as hard as she could to keep them back.

"And what were you trying to prove?" Natsu asked tentatively.

Alu hesitated, lowing her head so that her bangs hid her eyes.

"That you right," she finally admitted. "I wanted to prove that you were right."

"Me?" Natsu blinked. "Right about what?"

"That I am strong." Alu replied, her voice starting to crack with sadness. "I heard what you said to Ivan."

* * *

 _Moments before…_

 _Alu, Violet, and Happy reached Mount Zonia at the exact time the sun was beginning to set. Thanks to Violet's knowledge of the mountain, she was able to show them where they could find an entrance into the cave itself. It was a small crevasse that they had to squeeze through for about five minutes. When Alu and her companions finally got through, she was breathless and tired._

 _At the same time, after she became aware of her surroundings, she felt a strong, evil presence. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before, and it made her dizzy and sick. She shivered and hugged herself as she tried to fight off the nauseating feeling. She wasn't the only one who felt it. Happy and Violet both trembled and whimpered when they felt the same kind of darkness she did._

 _"What the heck is this?" Alu asked through chattering teeth._

 _"I don't know." Violet said. "I've never been inside the mountain before."_

 _"Man," Happy shuddered, "it feels like someone just poisoned the air with condensed evil."_

 _"Well, we're going to have to think about this later." Alu said, straightening herself back up. "We've got to find Ivan before Dad does."_

 _Without giving it another thought, Alu began to walk down a tunnel that would lead her into the mountain. Happy and Violet walked closely behind her._

 _In about five minutes, they began to hear the sounds of battle cries and powerful attacks striking each other. As Alu listened closely, she realized that the sound was coming from the below the floor. Alu scanned the area and saw that there was wide crack just a few yards away from her. She ran over to it and immediately got down onto her hands and knees._

 _She looked down through it and gasped in horror. There was a room down below her and the Exceeds. And there were two people down in that room._

 _Natsu had already found Ivan. Worse than that, Natsu was engaged in battle with Neo Leo and Neo Taurus._

 _"Natsu!" Happy cried as he peered over Alu's shoulder._

 _"Shh!" Alu snapped silently, smacking a hand over Happy's mouth. "Quiet, Happy! They'll hear you!"_

 _"Then what do we do, Alu?!" Violet asked in a worried whisper._

 _"Just wait." Alu ordered. "Wait and time our attack."_

 _Alu turned her attention back to the fight going on down below her. At first, she felt a thrill of excitement as she watched her father hold his own against Neo Leo and Neo Taurus. She had to restrain herself from shouting out as he took them down. She soon forgot why she was so worried in the first place. Natsu looked like he had the situation under control._

 _However, that excitement was quickly replaced with dread when she saw Ivan summon Neo Virgo, Aries, and Ophiuchus._

 _Alu, transfixed, watched in terror as those three Dark Spirits overwhelm her father and inject him with that horrible substance. She watched as they dragged Natsu over to alter and chain him up._

 _Alu suddenly found herself very afraid. She didn't know what to do next. There was no way she could stand up to Ivan now. He was too powerful for her._

 _What should she do?_

 _It was then that she heard her father speak._

 _"Alu." Natsu finally said, his voice rough and weak._

 _Alu snapped back to reality at the sound of her name and looked down through the crack._

 _"Alu." Natsu repeated to Ivan, trying to raise his voice. "Where's…Alu? Tell me."_

 _"You're still worried about that brat?" Ivan questioned, genuinely confused. "You're about to have your soul stolen and all you can think about is the girl? I don't understand why you care about that little misfortune anyway. She's hardly worth anything if you ask me."_

 _Alu winced painfully at that remark. Was Ivan right? Was she hardly worth anything? That thought lingered in her mind as she listened to the rest of the conversation below._

 _"A little weakling like her didn't deserve to be in Fairy Tail or any other guild." Ivan went on. "Wizards are only useful when they have power."_

 _"Is that why you implanted a lacrima inside your own son?" Natsu growled savagely. "Just because Laxus was weak back then, didn't mean he was useless."_

 _"You're one to talk, Dragon Slayer." Ivan replied. "I bet you and that blonde wizard had a Dragon Slayer lacrima implanted in your daughter before she was even born."_

 _"Never!" Natsu tensed, using all of his strength just to shout. "I would never do that to Alu! And neither would Lucy! The power Alu has is hers alone! It was in her blood ever since she was born!"_

 _"So, you're perfectly content with having a dead-weight of a daughter?" Ivan sneered._

 _"Alu's not dead-weight!" Natsu shot back. "She was never dead-weight to me, or Lucy, or anyone else in Fairy Tail!"_

 _"Of course," Ivan grinned mockingly, "because everyone Fairy Tail 'loves' their members no matter how pathetic they are. You know that keeping weak members in strong guild will only put you in peril. Just like now."_

 _"How's that?" Nastus snarled._

 _Alu could tell that her father was getting very annoyed at this point._

 _"C'mon," Ivan said, "it's because of that little brat that you're in this mess. You just couldn't abandon her even if you wanted to. Because Fairy Tail never leaves any of its members behind. And that's what's gotten ensnared in my trap."_

 _There was a short silence. Alu felt her heart sink. Ivan was right. It was because of her that her father was in this mess. If she hadn't run away, he wouldn't have been captured like this._

 _It was her fault. It was all her…_

 _"You shut your mouth." Natsu suddenly glowered. "All this garbage you're spewing is makin' me sick. I came after Alu because it was my choice. And I have no regrets."_

 _Alu looked up in surprise. She saw Natsu slowly lift his head up and stare at Ivan straight in the eye. His face was full of determined sincerity._

 _What he said next changed everything for Alu._

 _"I never once saw Alu as a misfortune. And I defiantly never saw her as a commodity. All that stuff you say about her being weak and useless is a load of crap. You don't know anything about her. She's one of a kind. She works hard. Puts her heart and soul into everything she does. And she never gives up, no matter what. She may not be strong in Magic, but she has the most powerful heart I've ever seen. So what if she has a Magic Deficiency? That makes no difference to me. I wouldn't even care if she was born without Magic. I'm just happy to have her in my life. Nothing can ever change the love I have for her. I'm more than proud to call myself her father."_

 _At that, Alu brought her hand up to her mouth and, for the first time in a long time, began to cry. She didn't even care that Happy and Violet were watching her. She had almost forgotten that they were there. A warm, deep glow began to shine in her heart when she heard those words her father spoke._

 _He believed in her. All this time, he had believed in her. The very person she had looked up to, admired, and strived to be for so long had faith in her, even after the mess she had gotten him into._

 _Just knowing that filled Alu with happiness._

 _She then heard Ivan speak again._

 _"Well, aren't you sentimental," he said harshly. "But you're also delusional. And I've grown tired of this idle chat. Say good night, Dragon Slayer."_

 _That was it. Alu didn't need to think twice about what she was going to do._

 _She was going to save her father. That decision was absolute._

 _With a burst of willpower, Alu busted through the ceiling in a spectacle of Dragon Slayer Magic and shot downwards, ready to confront Ivan._

* * *

 _Back to the present…_

Natsu blinked. So Alu had heard him. She was there the whole time and saw everything.

Alu twisted her mouth and tensed her body.

"But I failed," she whimpered. "I failed again. No matter how hard I try, I just can't win."

Ashamed, distraught by her loss, and unable to contain the tears that were welling up in her eyes, Alu suddenly brought her hands up and hid her face in them. Violet shifted her position so that she slid off of Alu's lap.

At last, Alu let herself cry.

"Why?!" she sobbed. "Why do I have to be so weak?! I don't understand! Just why?! I can't win any fights by myself! I hate it! Why do I have to be such a burden?! Ivan was right! I am a misfortune!"

Suddenly, Alu felt something grab her shoulder. The next thing she knew, her father pulled her in close to him and embraced her tightly, pressing her up against his chest. She was so surprised by this action that she tensed up and caught her breath. He clung to her so tight that Alu felt his arms trembling a bit from the force of it.

"Don't ever say that." Natsu whispered. "You're not a misfortune."

He sounded forceful, but not in an abusive way.

"Dad?" Alu whimpered.

"Ivan doesn't know you at all." Natsu went on. "He has no right to call you that. Nobody does. Your mom and I never saw you as that. How many times do I have to tell you before you believe it?"

Alu grimaced. Her heart tugged with self-pity. She couldn't contain her feelings anymore.

At last, she said something she never wanted anyone to know.

"When I stop hating myself."

Natsu tensed when he heard that. Happy and Violet stared with wide-eyed shock. They didn't expect Alu to say that. Nor did they ever expect to see her openly showing her feelings of self-anger, sadness, and frustration.

"I admit it," Alu choked, "I hate myself. I hate myself for being weak, for being angry all the time, and for just not knowing who I am. I feel like some part of me is missing, but no matter where I look, I can't find it. How can I like myself if I don't even know who I am? I just…I don't know…what to believe in anymore."

Alu couldn't go on. She had already felt like she had spilled her guts. She was embarrassed by it, along with all her other negative emotions.

Natsu pulled her in closer.

"It's okay," he said softly. "I know you're frustrated. And I'm sorry. I should've found some way to help you. But you need to know this. You're stronger than you think. The way you stood up to Ivan was brave. You're fearless, Alu. Don't ever forget that."

Alu sniffled and shuddered.

"And above all," Natsu continued, "never forget this: I love you. And so does your mother. We're happy to have you in our lives. And remember that I'll always be proud of you, no matter what."

Those words were meant to be encouraging, but they just stabbed Alu with guilt.

Alu couldn't hold her emotions back anymore. Her heart ached, and her soul shook. With a sob, she buried her face into her father's chest and let her tears fall as he held her in his strong arms. He was so warm and full of comfort, and she held on to him like he was a lifeline that would prevent her from drowning in her own sorrow.

Happy and Violet both started crying as they watched this. It was both touching, but also so sad for them. For Happy, who had known Alu ever since she was born, found it heartbreaking to see her in such a vulnerable state. That wasn't like her. She was always so stubborn and strong in his eyes. It hurt him to see her this way.

Violet walked over to and reached out to place a paw on Alu's left arm. As she did, her eyes caught something. When she looked to see what it was, she recoiled and gasped in horror.

"Alu!"

This got everyone's attention. Alu and Natsu pulled away from each other and turned to look at Violet. The purple Exceed was pointing at Alu's upper arm. Her paw was trembling, and her eyes were filled with horror.

Alu looked down, and was she saw made her heart leap up into her throat with fear.

On the upper part of her left arm, just centimeters below her shoulder, was a patch of pearly-white scales!

Alu couldn't speak, her breathing became staggered. Again, her body was changing in unnatural ways, and she didn't know why.

Why was this happening to her? Just WHAT was happening to her?

Natsu inhaled sharply and brought his hand up and examine it. There was no doubt that those were scales. They were smooth and flat, but Natsu could tell that they were super strong. And they felt familiar. He had felt these kind of scales before. They were only on one other creature he knew.

Igneel, his foster father. Who was a Dragon; clad with scales.

"What's happening to you?" Natsu whispered, disturbed.

It was then that Natsu remembered something. He looked over Alu again, and his eyes locked right onto her face. Only now did he realize that she had a streak of emerald green in her hair, and her right eye was cyan with a slit for a pupil.

He stared as the eye reminded him of…a Dragon's eye.

Natsu immediately remembered something else. When Ivan was about to attack Alu with the Shikigami Bomb, she had screamed in pain and clutched her left arm, even though Ivan didn't strike her. He thought it was because of a wound that Ivan had inflicted before, but when Natsu thought about it, he realized that she had grabbed the same spot that the scales were now on.

But after that, her power had seemed to increase enough so that she and Aries could do that combo attack.

On top of that, but it occurred to Natsu that Alu had opened two Zodiac Gates at the same time: Aquarius and Gemini. Alu had never been able to do that before.

Suddenly, it struck Natsu like lightning.

Alu's dramatic changes; the color of her flames changing from orange to white; and even regaining her strength and Magic Power during the middle of her battle with Ivan moments ago, despite the fact she had used up all her Dragon Slayer Magic before.

This wasn't any normal transformation.

Natsu remembered what Igneel had told him about Acnologia being a Dragon Slayer who turned into a Dragon. Igneel also told Natsu that one of the reasons he, and the other four Dragons, had sealed themselves inside the Dragon Slayers was to create antibodies to prevent the Dragon Seeds in the Slayers from turning them into Dragons.

Since Laxus was a Dragon Slayer because of a lacrima implanted in him, he didn't need to worry about that transformation happening to him.

But Alu…

Alu was BORN with this power.

Then something that Ivan said before stormed into Natsu's mind.

* * *

 _"I bet you and that blonde wizard had a Dragon Slayer lacrima implanted in your daughter before she was even born."_

* * *

Natsu knew that he and Lucy never implanted a lacrima inside Alu. But it was clear that Alu had inherited a lot from Natsu.

Did she also inherit a kind of Dragon Seed from him as well?

Was the reason Alu was able to use Dragon Slayer Magic because she had a Dragon Seed inside her, even before she was born? Was that even something that could be passed on through genetics? It might be. As far as Natsu knew, the only way Alu could use Dragon Slayer Magic was if she had a Dragon Seed.

And the only way she could've gotten that power, was from someone who was a First Generation Dragon Slayer.

Natsu was a First Generation Dragon Slayer.

If that was true, then in a way, Natsu DID implant something in her to give her Dragon Slayer Magic. Through his genetics, he implanted a Dragon Seed in her.

What's more, Alu never had a Dragon to create antibodies for her. Judging from the way she was transforming, the antibodies that prevented Natsu from transforming didn't get passed onto his daughter.

All this had never occurred to Natsu until now. He was beginning to feel very, very sick.

Was Alu turning into a Dragon?

Natsu couldn't bring himself to voice that. He tried to swallow back his fear, but that emotion of anxiety didn't leave his eyes. He grabbed hold of Alu again and pulled her in, holding her closely to him as if for dear life.

"Dad?" Alu whimpered.

"Alu," Natsu said, "we have to get you back to Fairy Tail now. If we don't…I think you'll become a Dragon."

Alu froze, terrified. Was that what was happening to her? Was she becoming a Dragon?

She had heard what had happened to Irene when she became a Dragon. Was she going to face that same fate?

"But…what can we do?" she asked fearfully.

Natsu hesitated. He curled his lips into his mouth and bit them.

"Alu, listen to me," he said, his voice was very low. "You've got to be brave, okay. I know this won't be easy for you, and it kills me to say this, but this might be the only way to stop your transformation."

Natsu paused. He really didn't want to say this. It tore at him to even consider this option, but he had to think about what was best for his daughter.

At last, he finally said it.

"We're going to have to take out the Dragon Seed inside you."

That was one of the hardest things Natsu had ever had to say to Alu. It pained him to even think of saying it at all.

Happy and Violet stared in horror as Natsu said those words. Natsu would only say that if the situation was dire. And right now, it was looking to be that way.

Alu couldn't speak at all. That statement just added onto the fear she was already feeling. She felt heavy and numb from shock. Her strength left her, and she slumped against her father.

To stop her transformation into a Dragon, Alu would have to have the Dragon Seed inside her surgically removed.

It wasn't the surgery part that scared Alu to death, it was the consequence that would come from it.

Without the Dragon Seed, Alu would no longer be able to use Dragon Slayer Magic.

She would never be a Dragon Slayer again.

Alu didn't know what was worse: becoming a Dragon, or losing her Dragon Slayer Magic forever.


	30. Chapter 30: Inside Mount Zonia

**Chapter 30**

 **Inside Mount Zonia**

 _In the middle of the forest…_

"Ugh." Ur groaned. "I never thought I would say this, but making a fire is much more of a hassle without the walking-talking blowtorch."

"Then we'll just have to get her back." Ash said, smiling nervously.

After a day of traveling; Ash, Ur, Carol, and Pantherlily all settled down to rest. By now, they had already laid out their sleeping bags and started a fire. Ash and Ur sat on one fallen log together, while Carol sat on another, holding Pantherlily in her arms as he sat on her lap. As they were waiting for the fish they had caught to cook, they began to talk amongst themselves.

"I still don't see why we should be doing this." Ur said. "I mean, Dad and the others are already looking for the little pinky princess, so why the heck are we out here?"

"Because Alu's our friend." Carol replied straightforward. "She's also part of our team. Besides, she would do the same if it was any one of us."

"You're right, Carol." Ash agreed. "And honestly, I wouldn't be able to call myself her friend if I just abandoned her like that."

Ur looked over at her twin brother with a mischievous grin. Ash caught his sister's expression and gave a worried frown.

"Yeah, right." Ur said, nudging her brother with her elbow. "You just want to save her because you're in love with her. Right, bro?"

Ash tensed and his heart skipped a beat. His face immediately turned red and his expression changed to startled embarrassment. Carol and Ur both snickered at his reaction while Pantherlily smirked. Getting a reaction out of Ash was so cruel, but they couldn't help it. It was so easy it was fun.

"N-N-No!" Ash stuttered. "It's not like that! Alu and I are just really good friends!"

"C'mon, Bro, admit it." Ur teased. "You've got feelings for her."

"Stop it, Sis!" Ash grimaced uncomfortably. "I just…I just like to hang out with her! And she makes for a good sparring partner!"

The two girls just laughed at the poor boy.

"Sorry, Ash." Carol giggled. "But you're really cute when you're flustered. And you have to admit, you're bad at hiding your emotions."

Ash groaned. Carol was right. He was bad at hiding his emotions, which was something he viewed as a curse.

"I just HAD to be the one to inherit that trait from Mom," he moaned.

"I don't see what the problem is, Ash." Pantherlily said calmly. "So you have feelings for Alu. What's wrong with that?"

Ash made a face.

"I think I know." Ur said, raising an eyebrow. "It's because of a certain someone she's related to, isn't it?"

The Ice Maker wizard boy shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself like he was cold. Of course, he wasn't. Ash wasn't affected by outside elements of cold. This chill came from a certain memory of someone.

"Natsu has got to be the scariest, most over-protective father on the face of this earth," he said in almost-comical fear.

"Oh." Pantherlily said slowly, finally understanding the message.

"Yeah, sucks to be you, bro." Ur shrugged sarcastically.

"You still have Natsu-phobia?" Carol asked. "Is it because of that little incident? Ash, that was like, what, four years ago. Besides, Happy was one who got the details wrong. You just fell on Alu during the middle a fight. And you got up immediately, and Alu didn't make a big deal about it."

"Try telling that to Natsu!" Ash shouted, his face went gone pale as he recalled the memory of that little "incident". "He threatened to tie me to a stake and burn me alive if I so much as went NEAR Alu after that! And he's got such demon-like eyes! I swear, I thought he was really going to kill me!"

"Just be grateful you're both in same guild." Ur pointed out. "That's the thing that keeps him from actually killing you."

"Yeah, but he can still really hurt me." Ash shivered.

"And that's why you should be glad that Dad can go toe-to-toe with him. After all, he did slug Alu's dad when he got up in your face back at the guild."

Ash groaned again and put head in his hands with exasperation. He certainly didn't want to remember that either. Any moment of Natsu's anger being directed at him gave the boy nightmares for weeks.

"Besides," Pantherlily said, "I don't think Alu would appreciate it if Natsu really did any major harm to you, Ash."

"That's true." Carol nodded. "And she if used herself as your shield, which I wouldn't put it past her to do something like that, there's no way Natsu would strike his own daughter. He cares about her too much."

That was something no one could argue with. They had all seen how many times Natsu had gone after Alu when she went off on a solo job without permission. It takes a really dedicated father who loves his daughter unconditionally to do that, no matter how many times she ran off.

"By the way, Carol." Ur spoke up. "I have to ask. Why did you decide to go after Alu?"

Carol looked up.

"Well, she's our friend for one thing," she said. "But also because I feel like I owe her."

Ash and Ur blinked.

"You guys know I was born without the ability to use Magic." Carol reminded. "Well, back then, I had considered leaving Fairy Tail because I felt like I didn't belong there. But it was Alu who gave the idea of learning to become and blacksmith for Magic weapons as well as an expert swordsman. If she hadn't done that, I probably would've left Fairy Tail. That's why I owe her one."

"I didn't know that." Pantherlily spoke up. "So that's why you wanted me to teach you the ways of the sword?"

"Yes." Carol nodded. "And that's why I'm here to bring Alu back."

Ash and Ur both nodded in understanding.

Ur then glanced away. She didn't want to admit her reason for rescuing Alu. The truth was that while Alu annoyed her to no end, and she hated that girl's guts, she didn't want see Alu hurt or even dead. If that happened, who would she have around to pick fights with? At the end of the day, Alu was fun to spar against.

As far as Ur was concerned, nobody messed with Alu but her.

"Well, the fish should be ready now." Carol announced. "Let's eat and then we'll get some sleep."

* * *

 _Back at Fairy Tail…_

It just after sunset when Lucy, Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Wendy, Carla, and Romeo arrived back at the Fairy Tail guildhall. They were surprised to see that almost every member of the guild was assembled there. This was the first sign to them that something wasn't right. Gray and Gajeel immediately went to find Juvia and Levy. The two women were standing by the bar, and both of them had worried expressions on their faces. As Gray and Gajeel got closer, they realized something else, too.

Ash, Ur, Carol, and Pantherlily were nowhere to be seen.

"What do you mean Ash and Ur are gone?!" Gray exclaimed after his wife told him what happened.

"It's just as I said, Darling." Juvia explained. "I woke up this morning and they were both gone. Their backpacks were missing, too. I think they might have gone after Alu."

"Carol and Lily are missing, too." Levy said, talking directly to Gajeel. "I think they might have gone with Ash and Ur."

"Oh, Carol." Gajeel mumbled, trying to conceal his concern. "At least Lily's with her, I guess."

Levy frowned at that. She knew Gajeel well enough by now to know that was his way of saying, 'Now I'm worried'. But she also caught something in Gajeel's eyes. It more than the usual worried glint.

"Gajeel, what's wrong?" she asked. "Did something happen?"

There was a short pause. Then Erza stepped forward.

"Where's Master Laxus and Makarov?" she asked. "We have to tell them something important."

"Right here," a voice answered.

The crowd departed, and Laxus came walking through, pushing the wheelchair his grandfather was sitting in. As usual, the Master of Fairy Tail had a stoic look on his face. He stopped just a few yards in front of Erza and folded his arms across his chest.

"Master, Makarov, I'm afraid we got some bad news." Erza said grimly.

"What is it, Erza?" Makarov asked.

"Well, back in Onibus, we ran into Sting and Minerva. They told us that Yukino had her soul stolen."

"Yeah, Wendy and Romeo told us that already." Laxus said.

"But that's not all." Erza interrupted. "We know who did it. We encountered Rogue earlier today. He found out that Ivan is the one behind it."

A cold wave of shock went through the whole guild at the sound of that name. Both Laxus and Makarov were particularly affected by this news. The Lightning Dragon Slayer made a kind of scowl that was mixed with shock, fear, and anger. Makarov gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"Do you know what he's up to this time?" Laxus asked, slowly.

"Sort of." Romeo answered. "From what Rogue told us, he's trying to complete some kind of Spell that would make into a kind of Dragon Slayer. A Celestial Dragon Slayer. And by the looks of it, he wants to destroy Fairy Tail, just like in the Grand Magic Games all those years ago. Only this time, he's got an army of artificial Zodiac Celestial Spirits. At least that's what Rogue told us."

"And he should know." Wendy added. "He fought with him last night. He experienced it first-hand."

Laxus scowl deepened. It then changed a bit when he noticed something. There was a member missing from the group that had just returned to the guild. A member that was impossible to overlook.

"Where's Natsu?" he asked. "And for that matter, where's Happy? Don't tell me they went to fight Ivan on their own."

The group looked over to Lucy. It was like they were expecting her to fill the Master of Fairy Tail in on what happened. Shivering, and clasping her hands over her heart, Lucy looked up. Everyone could see the fear in her eyes, even though she was doing her best to hide it.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Juvia asked caringly.

"Ivan tricked Natsu." Lucy explained in a weak voice. "From what Rogue told us, he encountered Alu last night and helped her fight off Ivan, along with some members of Crime Sorciére. I'm guessing that at some point, Ivan managed to snag a piece of Alu's clothing. Because he sent Natsu a note with part of her vest attached to it, saying that he had captured Alu and that he would kill her unless Natsu came alone. But it was all a trap."

The whole guild was listening intently now.

"It's true." Carla spoke up, sadly. "Shortly after Natsu left, I had a vision. It was all a trap so that Ivan could get Natsu's soul. Ivan didn't kidnap Alu. She was heading towards some kind of Valley. But she must've found out that Natsu had been captured, because I also saw her fighting Ivan. Happy went to stop her, but now that I think about it, he might be the reason she knew where to find Natsu."

"So," Laxus said, "they're probably fighting my old man now even as we speak. I hate to tell you this, Lucy, but Alu doesn't stand a chance against him. Natsu, probably. But if what you say is true, then those are as good as rats in a trap."

"Laxus!" Mirajane scolded. "Can't you see that Lucy's worried enough already!"

"Of course I can." Laxus replied. "But we have to realistic here. My deadbeat dad might be a coward, but if he wants something, he's ruthless."

"But Laxus, you were able to beat him in the Grand Magic Games." Wendy pointed out. "You also took out the entire Raven Tail guild."

"Yeah, but that was years ago." Laxus said. "And if he's has learned Curse Power, then there's a good chance that he's stronger now than he was then. Not to mention, he's leeching off the power Yukino's soul and her Magic. And if he gets a hold of Natsu's soul…"

"Don't say it!" Lucy suddenly cried.

Everyone turned to Lucy. She was struggling to not give into her fear, but it was getting harder by the minute.

"That can't happen!" Lucy said firmly. "I know Natsu! He won't let it happen so easily! I just know he, Alu, and Happy will come back!"

For a while, the whole guild was silent. They were just letting the information they had received sink in. At the same time, they were worried about the missing members of their guild. Just knowing that they were in, or potentially in grave danger, made them all fearful and helpless.

Lucy was feeling very vulnerable at this point. She just couldn't stand this waiting around. Especially since she knew that her husband and daughter were in danger.

She then felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Lisanna standing next to her. Although Lisanna had a look of concern in her eyes, she was doing her best to put on a bold face.

"Natsu will be fine," the white-haired woman said encouragingly. "You know he's strong and brave. And Alu is really tough, too. I just know they'll both be okay."

Lucy tried to smile, but the best she could give was a grimace. Regardless, she touched Lisanna's hand with her own.

"Thanks, Lisanna," she said gratefully.

It was then that Makarov raised his voice with authority.

"We'll just have to trust that Natsu, Alu, and Happy can hold out for the time being. For now, we have to focus on stopping Ivan. Three members of our family are in danger, and it's up to us to save them."

Everyone in the guild nodded.

"We'll also be getting help from Sabertooth." Erza informed. "They have their own score to settle with Ivan after what he did to Yukino. Rogue has gone to recruit them. More than likely they'll meet us here. After that, I propose that we head to Mount Zonia to rescue Natsu, Alu and Happy."

"Too bad Gildarts isn't here." Macao said. "We could use someone with his power right now."

"No kidding." Wakaba replied, letting out a puff of smoke. "I guess we're on our own for this one."

"We can't wait for Gildarts anyway." Makarov ordered. "Right now, we need to deal with the situation at hand, and that's saving the members of our family. The sooner we come up with a plan, the sooner we can get them back."

* * *

 _Meanwhile, inside Mount Zonia…_

Natsu had never been so sick with worry his life up until now.

Not only did he have to get Alu, Happy and Violet out of Mount Zonia so that they could get his daughter some help; but he also had deranged Celestial Spirits to worry about.

Fortunately, by this time, his body managed to fight off Neo Ophiuchus's poison, and he was able to summon his Dragon Slayer Magic if he had to. However, with Alu in the condition that she was in, he knew he couldn't afford to get caught up in a fight.

He just had to get her out and fast.

By this time, Alu had become so despondent that she couldn't even walk. Natsu had to carry her on his back. Even then, she found it hard to just hang on.

Happy and Violet, being the smallest of the group, served as scouts. They would poke around corners and let Natsu know when it was clear to move. Of course, along with Neo Leo, there were Neo versions of Sagittarius, Gemini, Cancer, Capricorn, and Scorpio walking around. Each of them were intent on finding Natsu and apprehending him like their master ordered.

Alu was disgusted by these twisted versions of the Zodiac Spirits. They were just ugly imitations of the real Zodiac Spirits.

Of course, Alu didn't express any of this out loud. She didn't have the strength to even do that. She just gave a sad and repulsed expression.

The sooner they got out of Mount Zonia, the better.

Well, for the most part. With each step, Alu just knew that her time as a Dragon Slayer was winding down. Once they got out of Mount Zonia, they would go back to Fairy Tail. Once they got back to Fairy Tail, Alu would have the Dragon Seed taken out of her to stop her Dragonification.

At this point, Alu didn't care if they got out of Mount Zonia or not.

After a while, Violet came upon and small opening that lead to some stairs leading downward.

"If my sense of direction is right," she said in a whisper, "then this should lead us into the heart of the mountain."

"Well, let's get going." Natsu ordered. "It's not safe for us to stay in one place for too long. One of those Spirits might catch us."

As they group traveled down the stairs, they began to realize that the sense of evil they had been feeling was getting stronger. At one point, they almost decided to turn back and find another way, but they immediately changed their minds when they hear the sound of Neo Cancer passing the top of the stairs.

"Oh, this is so not cool! How hard could it be to find a rambunctious pink-haired freak?!"

"Okay," Natsu said in a low voice, "I think I take my chances with this cave."

After about five minutes, the group reached the bottom of the stairs. They walked out of a low arched doorway and into a large cavern. It was so enormous that Natsu thought that the whole Kardia Cathedral could fit inside it. Bright luminescent crystals were lined up all along the walls, so that the place was lit up in bright green and white lights.

"Wow." Natsu breathed, his voice echoing all around the room. "This place is huge."

"I had no idea that Mount Zonia was hollow." Happy said, staring in wonder.

"Neither did I." Violet said. "I mean, I've lived around Mount Zonia my whole life, but I've never gone inside it."

As Natsu walked forward, the sound of metal being stepped on caught his attention. He looked down and saw that his foot had landed on something that looked like a shiny yellow rock. However, as he stared at it, he realized that it was actually some kind of large chain that appeared to be made of gold. As he looked at it, he saw that it was leading somewhere. His gaze followed along the trail of chain and found that it was attached to a large cuff just a few yards away.

He then looked around the room and found that there were five other cuffs and chains that were exactly identical.

"What's are these?" he asked.

"They look like a bunch of oversized handcuffs." Happy said.

"I know that, but what are they doing here? They don't look like any normal cuffs."

"Dad," Alu suddenly spoke up, her voice sounding weak, but also surprise, "these cuffs have Celestial Magic in them."

"Are you sure, Alu?" Natsu asked, glancing back at his daughter.

"Yeah." Alu nodded. "I'd recognize this power signature anywhere. But it's strange. I don't know how to explain it, but this Celestial Magic feels ancient. Like it's hundreds of years old."

"But what would chains imbued with Celestial Magic be doing in a place like this?" Happy asked.

At that moment, Violet saw something.

"Guys, look over there."

The whole group looked at Violet for a moment and saw that she was pointing to a wall across the room. They turned their eyes to see what it was. From where they were standing, they could see that there was some kind of drawing. They made their way across the cavern to get a better look, and soon found themselves staring up at a mural.

"What is this?" Natsu asked as they all stared at it.

"You got me." Happy said. "But I think it's some kind of cave painting."

"It looks pretty old." Violet pointed out.

The group looked over the pictures. From what they could see, it seemed to be telling a story. There were two large Dragons, and both were as black as the night sky. However, one of the Dragons had blue patterns that twisted around its body, while the other looked like it had a bright circular shape on its forehead and stars all along its body.

There were also images of the Zodiac Spirits, but they looked a little different than the ones that Natsu, Alu, Happy, and Violet knew. They looked like they were decked out in glittering armor and charging in as if to fight something. There was also the image of a young woman with long blond hair and was dressed in a blue and white outfit.

There was also another human in the picture. This one had emerald green hair, bright eyes, and was dressed in warrior garments. In one of the pictures it showed this human surrounded in a golden orb of light, and the dark dragon with the blue swirls was being chained up with golden cuffs.

"Hey," Violet suddenly said, "there's some writing here."

Natsu and Happy moved closer to where Violet was indicating to. Alu shifted her position so that she could get a better view over her father's shoulder. Violet was right. There was some writing just below the mural. Unfortunately for the two Exceeds, it was written in a language that they couldn't understand.

However, it was a different story for Natsu. This kind of writing looked vaguely familiar to him.

"I think I might be able to read this," he said. "This looks like the kind of writing Igneel and Anna taught me."

"You mean before you guys came through the Eclipse Gate?" Happy asked.

"Huh?" Violet blinked.

"It's a long story." Alu quickly said to the little Exceed before turning back to her father. "Well, what does it say?"

"Just give me a minute." Natsu said as he looked over the engraving.

Natsu studied the words for a moment. While reading wasn't exactly his strongest trait, he had a feeling that the message these words were trying to say were important. He had to pull all the memories of his language lessons with Igneel and Anna to figure out what this was trying to say.

At last, he took a deep breath.

"Okay, I think this is what it says: 'The Apocalypse has been sealed, and the Spell has been cast. A soul divided, the Spirit Dragon gone. This great power will be found when Magic converges. The Celestial Dragon will reawaken when the soul of a Celestial Wizard and Dragon Slayer becomes one and whole'. Man, talk about cryptic."

"What do you think it means?" Happy asked.

"How should I know?" Natsu shrugged.

"You know," Violet said, "it sounds like some kind of Prophecy. Maybe this mural is a clue to it."

Natsu looked back up at the cave painting. His attention was drawn to the black Dragon with the blue tattoos. Something about it seemed familiar. As he stared at that Dragon, his eyes suddenly widened. He realized that he knew that Dragon. He stepped back.

"Acnologia!" he exclaimed in fearful whisper.

"Where?!" Happy jumped at the sound of that name.

"That's Acnologia in that picture!" Natsu explained. "I know it!"

"But what's he doing on this mural?"

"I don't know." Natsu shook his head. "But this has certainly got my attention. And that person in the light. Something about them feels…familiar."

"How so?"

It was at that moment that Natsu felt a firm grip in his shoulders. Natsu turned to look back at his daughter with an expression of surprise.

"Alu, what is it?" he asked.

It was then that Natsu saw something. Alu's face was painted with wide-eyed shock. She had gone very pale, and she was starting to tremble. Her eyes stared straight up towards the roof of the cave with an unmistakable shine of horror in them.

She looked like she was in a trance.

"Alu, what's wrong?"

"Agnar…" Alu's voice was shaky.

"Who?" Happy blinked.

"Agnar." Alu repeated. "This place…I was here."

"Alu, what are you talking about?" Natsu asked, becoming very worried.

Alu reached a hand up towards the ceiling.

"I…I fell. I fell into darkness."

"Alu?!"

At that moment, something from inside Alu's key pouch began to glow. Alu felt a power shoot into her hip and head straight up towards her heart. When it reached its location, it quickly spread throughout the rest of her.

Alu's consciousness left her.

/

 _Alu was surrounded by darkness. Everywhere she looked, there was nothing but darkness._

 _It was cold. It was as cold as ice. It was so cold that it made Alu shiver._

 _But even that feeling was fading. Alu was fading. She felt so weak, like all of her energy was gone._

 _Was she…dying?_

 _Then there was sound of a voice chanting. They were muffled and distant, so Alu couldn't understand what it was saying. It sounded like a woman's voice, but who was it?_

 _"Who's there?!" Alu cried. "What's going on?!"_

 _Suddenly, Alu's whole body lit up in a white light, and she felt a horrible pain from inside. She screamed in agony as if felt like something inside her was struggling to break apart. It tore at her from a place that she couldn't reach. It was the most painful thing Alu had ever felt in her life. The moment dragged on for what seemed like an eternity._

 _At last, with one final scream, something inside Alu split apart._

 _Through a blurry vision, Alu saw three orbs of light hovering above her. One was pure light, one was gorgeous blue, and the other was radiant red._

* * *

Alu let out a screamed and jerked up in an unnatural manner. She moved so unexpectedly that Natsu lost his grip on her, and she started to fall backwards.

"ALU!"

Luckily, Happy and Violet were quick to respond. They flew over to Alu and caught her by her arms before she hit the ground. By the time they had set her down, Natsu had turned around and was on his knees.

He immediately grabbed hold of Alu and held her close. Alu trembled struggled to breathe. For a minute, she couldn't find her voice. She couldn't speak.

Happy and Violet both stared with concerned. As Alu turned her face to try and get more air, Happy gave a shriek.

"Alu, you're face!"

Natsu looked up at his Exceed partner for a second, and then back at Alu. He pushed her way just enough to examine her.

When he saw what had startled Happy so badly, he began to feel that sickening feeling again. He brought his hand up and touched the area around Alu's left eye. Alu shut her eye out of reaction and brought a hand up to shove her father's away.

That's when she felt something.

As Natsu removed his hand, Alu felt along the side of her eye. Her blood ran cold and she caught her breath when she realized that what she felt wasn't skin.

"She's got scales now!" Happy exclaimed.

Violet gasped in alarm when she saw Alu, and she covered her mouth with her paws.

Around Alu's left eye was a patch of white scales. They were identical to the scales on her arm.

Alu trembled and she wrapped her arms around herself. Did this mean that her Dragonification was speeding up?

"Dad," she whimpered, "I'm scared. I'm scared."

Natsu did the only thing he knew how to do in a situation like this. He just pulled Alu in close and wrapped his arms around her. She shivered like she had just been pulled out of icy cold water, and she clung to her father with what little strength she could muster.

"It's going to be okay, Alu." Natsu whispered, trying to be comforting. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be fine, I promise."

Alu couldn't respond. She just nestled closer to her father, as if she was hoping that his warmth would unfreeze her fear-stricken heart.

Just then, Violet jolted with a realization.

"Guys, I just thought of something," she said quickly. "Ivan must've found out about this Prophecy because of this mural. And if that's true, then that means that Ivan knows about this chamber. We need to get out of here."

"Oh, it's too late for that, little kitty," a sinister voice said from across the room.

Alu flinched in fearful shock as she recognized that voice.

Natsu, Alu, Happy and Violet all turned towards the entrance they had taken. Ivan was there, with the Celestial Spirits had summoned before standing in front of him. Every single one of them was looking at the small group with wicked looks of accomplishment for finding their prey.

At the sight of that horrible man, Natsu scowled defensively pulled Alu in closer to himself. He remembered what Ivan had done to Alu before, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. He held onto Alu like she was some precious treasure that he would never let go of no matter what. Now that he wasn't chained up, and Neo Ophiuchus's injection had worn off, he was going to protect her with all the strength he had.

Alu felt her stomach freeze when she looked at Ivan. Whether it was because he had almost killed her before, or if it was because of that evil look of triumph on his face, or for some unknown reason, Alu suddenly found herself deathly afraid of him. She tightened her grip around her father's jacket and began to whine loudly. She just wanted to know Natsu was here. She had to know he was here.

This only made Natsu even more protective. He held Alu closer, his arms trembling from the force of it. He scowled at Ivan and began to shiver. He knew that this fear he was feeling wasn't for himself, it was for his daughter.

"What's the matter?" Ivan sneered. "You scared? Well, you should be. Because this is the end of the line for all of you. You can't escape me now."


	31. Chapter 31: A Father's Love

**Chapter 31**

 **A Father's Love**

"Spirits, capture the Dragon Slayer!" Ivan commanded.

On that command, the Spirits that were assembled in front of Ivan charged forward towards Natsu, Alu, Happy and Violet. Neo Leo was in the front, and he had a look of vengefulness in his face. He clearly hadn't forgotten his fight with Natsu before.

Natsu tightened his hold around Alu and jumped out of the way just as the Spirits reached them. Happy and Violet both flew high above the others. While in mid-air, Natsu positioned himself in such a way where he could shield Alu and attack at the same time.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

A jet-stream of fire shot from Natsu's mouth and down upon the six Neo Zodiac Spirits. This forced them to raise their arm in defense as the mighty flames surrounded them.

"Happy, Violet!" Natsu shouted. "Take Alu!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy said.

The two Exceeds swooped down, and Natsu passed Alu off to them.

"Dad!" Alu cried as she was pried away from him.

"I'll be okay, Alu!" Natsu said as reassuringly as he could. "Just find some shelter!"

Before Alu could protest any further, Happy and Violet carried her away from the fight. But she didn't take her eyes off her father for a moment.

Natsu landed on his feet and charged forward, fire surrounding his fists.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!"

Neo Leo responded to this by summoning his Dark Regulus.

"PITCH BLACK HAMMER!"

Happy and Violet brought Alu over to a pile of boulders on the far side of the cavern and hid down behind them. Alu crawled over to peek around the edge of the rocks. She watched with sickening anxiety as her father fought against the deranged Spirits.

Natsu ducked under Neo Leo's punch before slugging him a good one in the stomach. While Neo Leo's armor prevented any major damage, it was enough to at least stun him, giving Natsu the chance to deck him.

With Neo Leo down, Natsu quickly turned his attention to the next Spirit that was closing in on him, which was Neo Sagittarius. The Dark Archer Spirit had already summoned a long spear and was charging towards Natsu with the intent on stabbing the Dragon Slayer in the shoulder. But Natsu's reflexes were sharp. He avoided the oncoming spear and sprang off of one foot.

"FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN!"

Natsu, surrounded in an aura of fire, head-butted Neo Sagittarius straight in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the Dark Spirit. Neo Sagittarius then fell on all four knees of his horse-half and Natsu jumped right over him.

His attention then turned to Neo Cancer.

"You got some fancy moves there, man!" Neo Cancer said manically. "Let's see how you handle this!"

Neo Cancer moved in with his massive crab-claw hands and began to snap at Natsu with lightning fast attacks. Natsu came to a stop to dodge ever single attack. He either bent over backwards as far as he could, moved to the side, or ducked to avoid getting hit. Finally, he managed to find an opening and dropped to the floor to swing his legs around and knock Neo Cancer off his feet.

Natsu then turned his attention to Neo Scorpio. But before he could make a single move, the Neo versions of Scorpio, Capricorn, and Gemini disappeared into thin air.

"What the…"

Suddenly, a terrified scream caught Natsu's attention.

Natsu turned around quickly to see what was going on. What he saw made him freeze in terror.

Alu was so focused on the fight that she had completely forgotten about Ivan. He saw where she and the two Exceed had hidden, and snuck up behind her. By the time Alu realized he was there, he had summoned the Neo versions of Virgo, Aries, and Ophiuchus. Neo Aries had grabbed Alu by the neck with her chain, and Neo Virgo had chained her up just like she had done with Natsu before. On top of that, the Dark Maiden had captured Happy and Violet in body cuffs and made them hover beside her.

But what made Natsu stop was that Neo Ophiuchus had her syringe poised to stab Alu in the stomach. He could see a greenish purple substance inside that syringe, and it made his own abdomen clench when he remembered being injected with that crazy stuff. He involuntarily brought his hand up and clutched the place where that needle had stabbed him. He then scowled with anger when he saw how scared Alu was. She remembered what she had seen before with this, and now she was more terrified than before.

"Well, well, well," Ivan sneered, enjoy the expressions on both Natsu and Alu's faces, "looks like I ended up capturing your precious daughter after all, Dragon Slayer."

"Let her go, Ivan!" Natsu demanded in a fierce voice. "She's got nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, I'll let her go," Ivan said with an evil grin, "if you agree to surrender your soul to me. If you so much as make a move, then your daughter will suffer the same fate as you and worse."

"He's not lying." Neo Ophiuchus smiled maliciously. "This poison is different from the one I used on you. This will completely destroy her Magic Power in the most painful way possible. All I have to do is inject this stuff into her, and she'll blow up like a tick before plastering all over the walls."

Natsu clenched his fist in rage and Alu shuddered.

"So, what's going to be, Dragon Slayer?" Ivan asked in a sinister voice. "The girl, or your soul?"

Natsu didn't have to think about this. There was no other way around this. He knew what the consequences would be if he gave up his soul, but he didn't want Alu to suffer a horrible fate. His love for his daughter was greater than his own wellbeing.

He wasn't going to let Alu suffer. If there was any chance of saving her, he was going to take it.

Natsu lowered his head, extinguished the fire around his fists, and stood where he was. He brought his arms down and released the tension in his fists.

"Do whatever you want to me," he said in a low voice. "Go ahead, take my soul. Just let Alu go."

Alu stared at her father with wide eyes. He was really doing it. He was giving himself up just to save her. He was doing all this for her. This made Alu lower her head so that her bangs hid her eyes.

"Dad," she whispered under her breath.

"That's more like it." Ivan sneered. "Glad to see someone knows when to surrender."

Ivan then raised his hand. Natsu tightened his jaw and waited for that Curse Power to take away his soul.

"NATSU!" Happy cried out with fear.

However, before Ivan could strike, Alu suddenly screamed with rage. Her whole body lit up in a blaze of intense white fire that forced all of the Spirits surrounding her to stumble back and away from its heat. Alu's chains all melted off of her and fell to the floor in puddles of burning hot liquid. Alu dropped to her feet and turned her attention towards Ivan. The man stepped back nervously when he saw the savageness in her face. Her eyes filled with furious determination, and her hands burning with white fire.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY DAD!" she screeched.

Ivan had only a split second to react. He managed to avoid Alu's roundhouse kick to the head, but she quickly followed it up with a punch to the chest. Thanks to her Dragon Slayer Magic, Alu amplified the punch and sent Ivan flying backwards. He let out just a small grunt of pain before slamming back into the wall.

As soon as Ivan was down, Alu whipped around and charged at the Neo versions of Virgo, Aries, and Ophiuchus. All three were so startled by what she did before that by the time she reached them, they didn't have time to defend themselves. Alu Wing-Attacked Neo Virgo, punched Neo Aries with a Flame Elbow, and kicked Neo Ophiuchus with a Dragon Talon strike. The cuffs around Happy and Violet immediately disappeared and the two Exceeds flew straight up in the air.

Natsu stared. Alu was known to become vicious in a fight, but this was on another level than any he had seen before. Not only that, but her Magic Power was more intense than before. Natsu had lived with Alu his whole life and knew the extent of her Magic Power, so he could definitely tell that something in it had changed. Not to mention, Alu had a glint of ferocity in her eyes that he had never seen before.

At first Natsu was amazed that Alu could fight like this, but then a thought struck his mind that made his heart drop down into his toes.

Was this increase in power and strength a side-effect of the Dragonification?

Before Natsu could think any further on this, Alu came running over towards him with Happy and Violet close behind.

"Dad!" she said urgently. "You and I are going to have to team up!"

"Huh?!" Natsu said, snapping out of his trance.

"C'mon, it's the only way we're going to get out of here!" Alu replied fervently. "We're a family and we protect each other! I've got your back, you've got mine! That's how it works! And it's the only way we're going to get out of here! Even if I'm gonna lose my Dragon Slayer Magic after this, I can at least use it now to get us out of this mess!"

Natsu blinked. He then grinned and nodded.

"That's my girl!" he said proudly. "You ready?!"

"Yeah!"

By this time, all of the Zodiac Spirits that Natsu and Alu had knocked down before were back on their feet and were staring at the two Dragneels with vengeful expressions.

"That's it!" Neo Leo snarled. "You're both dead! I swear we'll put an end to you!"

"Bring it on!" Alu taunted.

Natsu and Alu stood back-to-back with confident smirks on their faces.

"LET'S KICK SOME ASS!" they both declared in unison.

Happy and Violet flew high above to get a better view of the fight that was about to happen. On a silent command, both Natsu and Alu charged toward their chosen Neo Spirits. Natsu went for Neo Leo, Sagittarius, and Cancer; while Alu went for Neo Virgo, Aries, and Ophiuchus. Pretty soon, the father and daughter were engaged in a fight against three Neo Zodiac Spirits each.

Natsu attacked with strength, power, and swiftness. He landed hard blows on Neo Sagittarius, avoided the pinching claws of Neo Cancer, and overwhelmed Neo Leo with a merciless barrage of punches and kicks.

Alu fought with agility, precision, and well-timed punches and kicks. She decked Neo Aries, dodged Neo Virgo's whip attacks as well as managing to kick her legs out from under her, and broke Neo Ophiuchus's syringe when the Dark Snake Charmer tried to stab her with it.

In just a few minutes, all the present Neo Zodiac Spirits were down and out. After a few seconds, they all disappeared in a flurry of deep purple and black lights. Both Natsu and Alu were panting heavily, but were relatively unharmed.

With the battle over, Happy and Violet flew down from the ceiling.

"Alright!" Violet cheered excitedly. "You guys did it!"

"No," Natsu said in a deep voice, "that was too easy."

"Yeah." Alu said warily. "They should've put up much more of a fight than that. Something's feels wrong."

Just then, the sounds of lasers charging and paper flapping caught everyone's attention. They sounded like they were coming from above. The wizards and Exceeds snapped their heads up and saw that there were four Shikigami bombs gathering above them. And they were all completely formed.

While they were all focused on the fight with the Neo Zodiacs, Ivan had prepared a sneak attack of his own. Using his own Magic, he summoned these Shikigami bombs to attack.

All at once, the Shikigami bombs fired their laser beams. Natsu, Alu, Happy, and Violet all hollered and screamed as a laser stuck them. The beams weren't powerful enough kill anyone, but they stuck their targets with painful force. They were all slammed down to the stone floor, leaving small indentions in the ground. All of them ached so badly that they could barely move.

When the dust had settled, Ivan stood several yards away, admiring the sight before him.

"Hmph," he scoffed, "not quite the show I was expecting, but thanks for buying me some time. If all Fairy Tail wizards are as weak as you, then I'll have no trouble wiping out the whole guild."

"How?"

Ivan looked over to where the frail voice had come from. Much to his surprise, Alu was struggling to get up. She had only managed to get up to her knees, but that was all her remaining strength would allow her to do. Not to mention, her stomach wound was starting to get to her again, and she curled up to try and lessen the pain.

"Tell me…" Alu strained. "How…did you find out…about the Celestial Dragon Slayer?"

Ivan glared at Alu.

"Why do you want to know that?" he asked.

"Just tell me." Alu demanded as firmly as she could. "I need to know."

"Hmph," Ivan replied disdainfully, "I don't see why I should. But if you want to know, then fine. After I suffered a defeat at the hands of that pathetic excuse for a son, Laxus, Raven Tail was forced to disband. Makarov and his guild had humiliated me for the last time. From that day on, I swore that I would find a way to destroy him and all of Fairy Tail. While I was imprisoned for a time, I heard the news that Alvarez had attacked, and that the Lumen Historie had been destroyed. Not only that, but I soon got the news that Makarov had nearly died during the war to save his "precious children." Pity that he still lived, but I guess his old age has now made him unable to walk."

Alu narrowed her eyes. That was a mocking statement if she ever heard one. But there was also something off about it. Ivan looked like he had an odd mixture of being very pleased, but also very angry.

"After I escaped from prison," Ivan continued, "I traveled around. Eventually, I came to Mount Zonia and found the Spell that would create the most powerful Dragon Slayer the world had ever seen. And after seeing how strong a Dragon Slayer was, I knew this was the perfect chance to get what I wanted. However, I also knew that in order to obtain this power, I would have to learn a way to get the souls of a Celestial Wizard and Dragon Slayer. I got that information after I raided the Magic Library. After discovering Tartaros and their power over Curses, I enchanted myself with one of those Curses, the one that allows me to steal souls and use them how ever I please."

Alu's eyes widened in shock

"You mean…you actually cursed yourself into a Demon?" she shuddered.

Ivan glared at Alu.

"Well, that's not to say that the Curse didn't come without a price."

Ivan pushed back his cloak to and rolled up the sleeve on his right arm. Alu gasped in horror. Ivan's whole arm was disfigured. His skin was a hideous orange color and covered with green mold blotches. The visible blood vessels were pulsing in a way that made Alu want to vomit.

"Why? Why would you do that?"

"Power comes with a price, as you should know." Ivan said. "But this is a small price if I can use it to destroy your guild."

Alu stared with horrid disgust. How could Ivan say that? Was he really that far gone?

Ivan then scowled at Alu.

"And out of all the Fairy Tail wizards I've ever met, you're the most annoying," he said savagely.

Ivan raised his hand and summoned his Curse Power. Alu watched with horror as that power grew stronger.

"Your soul won't be of any use to me," Ivan grinned wickedly, "but at least this'll shut you up. Say goodnight, Fairy Tail wizard."

All Alu could do was watch as a black tentacle shot for Ivan's hand and snaked its way through the air towards her.

But before the tentacle reached her, something moved in front of her and wrapped her up in a strong embrace.

Alu stopped breathing when she saw what happened.

Natsu had managed to recover in time to see what was going on. Without thinking, he moved from his spot, and placed himself between Ivan's Soul Stealer Curse and Alu. He hung onto Alu, using his body as a shield.

Alu stared with horror. She struggled to breathe when she saw that black tentacle strike into her father's back, right between his shoulder blades.

Natsu grimaced and tightened his grip around Alu as Ivan's Curse began to probe around inside his body, searching for his soul. He had felt this Curse Power before, but this brand that Ivan was wielding was different than the others one he had fought against before. It wasn't letting go, and Natsu didn't have the strength to fight it back. It was only a matter of time before Ivan found his soul and stole it.

"Dad, no!" Alu said, her voice shaking. "No, no, please!"

Natsu turned his head and gave his daughter a weak smile. He wasn't getting out of this, and he knew it. But he wanted to use the time he had left to give his daughter encouragement.

"It's okay, Alu," he strained to say. "It'll be alright. Just…keep fighting on. Protect Fairy Tail. I know you can. I have faith in you. I always have. Don't worry. I'll always…be with you."

Alu's lip quivered.

"And remember…" Natsu whispered, "I'll always…love you."

As soon as those words left Natsu's mouth, Ivan yanked out the Dragon Slayer's soul.

Alu gasped in horror. Time around her seemed to slow down. The moment Natsu soul left him, he went limp immediately and his whole body turned cold. His eyes lost their light, and slowly closed. He lost his grip on Alu, and fell to the ground, lifeless.

Alu stared at her father for a moment, stunned and terrified. She couldn't believe what just happened. When it began to register with her, she trembled. Her breathing became rigid, her heart clenched so hard that it hurt, and tears welled up in her eyes. She fell over onto her hands and let those tears spill down from her eyes.

Finally, she lifted up her head and cried in the loudest voice that echoed throughout the cavern.

 **"DAD, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

As Alu cried in anguish, Ivan gathered up the glowing red orb that was Natsu's soul and held it in the palm of his hand. He then closed his fingers around the orb, and absorbed it. Feeling the rush of the power it contained, Ivan began to laugh in maniacal triumph.

"Amazing!" he yelled. "So this is the power of a Dragon Slayer! It's glorious! At last! With this Magic mixed with Celestial Magic, I'll become the most powerful wizard in the land! Nothing will stand in my way!"

Alu looked up with a vicious scowl and suddenly rose to her feet with a burst of energy she didn't know she had. Out of blind rage and hatred, she charged towards Ivan.

"GIVE IT BACK!" she cried furiously. "GIVE MY DAD'S SOUL BACK!"

Ivan just smirked as Alu drew closer. He raised his hand towards her and a fire ball formed in his palm. Alu looked at it in horror and her mind shut off.

That was her FATHER'S Magic!

Seeing her hesitation, Ivan took the opportunity to blast Alu with the fire ball. Alu was sent flying across the cavern at incredible speed. She hit the ground and tumbled for a few feet before hitting the wall. As she did, a rock struck her in the head and knocked her out. She fell to the ground and little pieces of rocks showered down on her.

However, from Ivan's point of view, the attack looked like it had killed Alu. He could see some blood trickling down her face and staining her hair. She fell still, showing signs of life.

"So pathetic," he grinned evilly. "Oh well, she served her purpose. And now that I've gotten what I wanted, there's only one thing left to do. Time to wipe Fairy Tail from the face of this earth. I'll destroy every last one of those little Fairies. No man, woman, or child will be left alive."

Ivan turned to the stairway and walked out of the chamber.


	32. Chapter 32: Attack on Fairy Tail

**Chapter 32**

 **Attack on Fairy Tail**

 _In the forest…_

"Carol, wake up!"

Carol winced and groaned as the hushed voice of Pantherlily woke her from her slumber. She opened her eyes and strained to see through the limited light what was going on. She saw at once by the change in shadows of the forest, and the dying embers of the campfire, that she had been asleep for several hours.

She lifted her head with alert when she noticed that Pantherlily was in his battle form, which made him look like a muscular human with a cat's head.

"Lily, what's wrong?" Carol whispered.

"I sense something coming." Pantherlily informed. "Wake the others."

"Right."

As Pantherlily got up to scan the area, Carol ran over to Ash and Ur to shake them both away. They were both groggy, but did their best to wake up when they noticed Carol's mild urgent behavior. They both got to their feet and the whole group stood in a circle with their backs to the campfire and their fronts to the forest around them. Carol and Pantherlily had their Magic weapons at the ready, Ur took a graceful stance and prepared herself to attack with her Water Magic, and Ash already placed his right fist into his left hand to use his Ice Maker Magic.

For a while, there was just silence. But there was definitely the presence of something evil nearby. They were all alert and ready to strike, the question was what they were supposed to be striking.

Then suddenly, something emerged from the bushes. Everyone immediately snapped around and charged towards the spot, ready to attack.

Something flew out of the bushes and stopped each of their attacks.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

Lucy stood out at the edge of the guild that looked over Lake Sciliora. The night breeze gently swayed her long hair, which was tied up in a side ponytail. She was now dressed in her battle gear. A tight, dark blue sleeveless top with a long white skirt, and brown knee-high boots with white leggings. On her arms were gloves that went from her wrists to just below her shoulders. Around her waist was a brown belt that held her pouch with her Celestial Keys and her Fleuve d'etoiles.

While everyone else in the guild was waiting for the wizards of Sabertooth to arrive, she headed out to stand at the edge of the lake. All she could think about was her family, and the fact they were in trouble. And for the past few hours, she had a horrible feeling nagging at her in the back of her mind. It was bothering her so much that it was beginning to make her heart hurt. She was just wishing she could be where Natsu and Alu were so that she could help them. She wanted that more than anything right now. She just wanted both her husband and daughter to be standing with her now. She wanted to know that they were safe.

Lucy hugged herself, trying fight off the inner chill she felt as well as the outer. As she did, she felt something warm drape over her shoulders. She tensed for a moment in surprise and saw that it was a brown suit coat. She then turned around in time to see Loke come up beside her.

"Loke!"

"Sorry, you just looked cold." Loke said in a low voice. "So, you worried about your family, huh?"

Lucy pulled the jacket around her shoulders and nodded.

"Yeah," Loke sighed, "I figured you were. But if it makes you feel any better, I'm worried about them, too."

"I just wish there was something I could do to help them," she admitted sadly. "I know they're both in danger. I can feel it. But there's nothing I can do right now. I hate feeling this way."

"I understand." Loke replied. "And I wish I knew what to say to make things better, but I just don't know what I can do."

"It's okay." Lucy said softly. "I'm just glad that you're here."

"Heh, you don't usually say that."

"Yeah, well, I just want some company right now. Thanks, Loke."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Then Loke gave a peculiar expression, like he was debating with something inside his mind. Finally, he looked up at the stars.

"You know, Lucy," he said, "if the worst should happen, then Alu may be our only chance."

Lucy blinked in surprise and looked at her Celestial Spirit.

"What do you mean?" she asked quickly.

"If Alu realizes who she truly is," Loke said, almost like he was lost in a trance, "then I'm sure we're going to see her reach her full potential soon."

Lucy blinked. It wasn't like Loke to talk so philosophically. In fact, she would say that it was out of character for him.

Why was he talking that way? And what did he mean when he was speaking of Alu?

"Loke, what are you talking about?" she asked.

Loke hesitated for a second. He then suddenly jolted in alert.

"LOOK OUT!" he shouted.

The next thing Lucy knew, the Lion Spirit made a desperate lunge for her and tackled her away. The two rolled for about a yard, and there was the sound of a small explosion. When Lucy and Loke came to a stop, the Celestial Wizard looked over to see what happened.

What she saw made her gasp in terror.

Right where she was standing just a few seconds ago was a dark version of Leo, and his fist was planted straight in the ground. He looked up at Lucy and Loke with a wicked smirk.

"Pretty good reflexes there, lion cub," he said.

Loke stared in shock when he saw his darker self. Lucy shuddered at the sight of that evil Loke. She then quickly gathered her wits and forced herself to stand up again. Loke noticed his key holder's action and followed her lead.

"Lucy, warn the rest of the guild!" Loke ordered. "I'll hold him off!"

"Right!" Lucy nodded. "Be careful, Loke!"

Lucy then made a dash towards the Fairy Tail guild hall. Neo Leo made an attempt to go after her, but he was intercepted by a Regulus punch by Loke.

"Well, this certainly a surprise." Loke said to his dark counterpart. "I didn't think I'd ever have to face off against myself."

"This'll hardly be a challenge." Neo Leo glared. "You're no match for the power I possess."

Neo Leo lunge forward again to attack.

Lucy forced herself to not look back as she ran towards the guild. Although she could hear the sounds of Loke fighting his dark self, she couldn't hesitate. If Neo Leo was here, then that meant that Ivan wasn't far behind. He was bound to show up at any moment.

Just as Lucy thought this, she got a horrible shock.

She had made it to the edge of the pool and was about to head to the guild, but she was cut off by a sudden wall of fire. She let out a startled shriek and staggered back away from it. She then looked around and saw that she was trapped inside a large circle of fire.

"Going somewhere?" a sinister voice asked.

Lucy looked sharply over to her right. Her blood immediately ran cold, and her face turned very pale.

Ivan was just a standing a few yards away from her. The look on his face was one of malicious triumph. And with the fire burning all around them, he had an even more ominous presence than before.

"Ivan." Lucy scowled nervously, grabbing her whip and lashing it out.

"What's the matter?" Ivan jeered. "You look scared. I can't say I blame you."

Lucy swallowed back her fear and grabbed the Lion's Key off of her belt. In a flash of light, she had transformed into her Lion's Star Dress. She then took a fighting stance and prepared herself.

"Seems you've changed since the last time I saw you." Ivan said. "Back then, you didn't seem cable of holding your own in a fight. And you certainly couldn't do that with your Magic."

"I'm not that person anymore, Ivan." Lucy replied sharply.

At that moment, something struck Lucy like a spear.

Why was Ivan even here? And why did he have this look of confidence about him?

Lucy glanced over at the fire that had blocked her before. A horrible feeling began to rise up inside of her when she realized that she recognized the flames. This wasn't just ordinary fire.

It was Dragon Slayer Fire. Only one person could create that kind of Magic.

Lucy then turned back to Ivan. The man seemed to know what she was thinking, and as if to prove a point, he raised his left hand and ignited a small ball of fire in the palm of it.

"I must say," he grinned evilly, "Dragon Slayer Magic is quite amazing. I can see why your husband was such a powerful wizard. His soul is rather incredible."

That's when Lucy realized what was going on. Her chest tightened in horror so badly that she couldn't breathe, her eyes widened to their largest size, and tears began to well up inside them.

"No…" she whispered fearfully. "No…you didn't…"

Ivan chuckled wickedly. He knew that she had figured it out by now.

Lucy winced as tears fell from her eyes. She then looked back up with a vicious and hurtful scowl.

"YOU BASTARD!" she shrieked.

With that, Lucy lashed out her Fleuve d'etoiles towards Ivan. Ivan stepped aside and then charged towards her, his fists alit with fire. Lucy managed to jump out of the way and spun around to kick Ivan in the face with a Regulus attack of her own. He blocked her leg with his fist, and intensified his fire. Lucy let out a scream of pain as the fire burned her shin. She stumbled away from Ivan and looked down for a second to see the extent of her injury. Since she had Regulus activated, the burn wasn't as serious as it could've been.

However, now that Lucy was distracted, Ivan took the chance to pull yet another one of his dirty tricks. He pulled three keys off of his belt and opened the Gates of their Spirits.

But the time Lucy realized what was happening, it was too late. Dark versions of Virgo, Ophiuchus, and Libra were standing right in front of her.

"Looks like you're going to be my third victim of Fairy Tail." Ivan smirked. "Quite ironic that you're all related in some way. Although that second one wasn't much of a challenge. She got what was coming to her. At least you'll get to join her in the afterlife."

That remark made Lucy jolt in shock.

What did Ivan mean by "joining _her_ in the afterlife"?

No.

That couldn't be.

Alu was…

No!

More tears spilled from Lucy's eyes, and her stomach wrenched painfully. First, her husband had his soul stolen, and now her daughter was killed.

She had lost her family once again. The pain of learning that was unbearable. It was like her heart had shattered inside her chest, and its shards were piercing her lungs and other internal organs.

But this feeling of loss and misery changed from defeat to enraged willpower. Lucy straightened herself up and ran forward with a cry of fury, lashing out her Fleuve d'etoiles as she did.

"YOU'LL PAY!" she raged. "I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"

"Go on and try." Ivan jeered, taking delight in what he was seeing.

He then turned to his three Dark Spirits.

"Apprehend her," he simply ordered.

On that command, Neo Virgo, Ophiuchus, and Libra launched in to attack. Lucy braced herself for the attack that was to come.

"IRON DRAGON CLUB!"

Something charged through the flames struck Neo Virgo, Ophiuchus, and Libra with a giant, metal hammer. Lucy stopped dead in her tracks stared in shock.

"SOLID SCRIPT MAGIC: WATER!"

Lucy looked over to see the wall of fire being extinguished by a torrent of water raining down. As soon as it was put out, two figures emerge from the shadow.

"Gajeel! Levy!" Lucy cried.

And it wasn't just Gajeel and Levy standing in front of her. The commotion from outside had alerted everyone inside Fairy Tail, and the strongest members of the guild rushed out to see what was happening.

Gray, Juvia, Erza, Elfman, Mirajane, Lisanna, Cana, Wendy, Carla, Romeo, and the Thunder Legion were all standing there. In front of all of them was Laxus.

The group ran over to Lucy and took defensive positions.

"Lucy, are you alright?!" Erza asked.

Lucy didn't answer. It was now that Erza became aware of the tears streaming down the blond woman's face. But Erza knew that Lucy wasn't crying because of any physical pain.

"What happened?! Did Ivan hurt you?!" the Requip Wizard said urgently.

The moment Laxus saw Ivan, the two stared at each other with intense looks of resentment.

"So, you finally decided to show you ugly mug here." Laxus growled. "You got a lot of nerve to show your face here, old man."

Ivan narrowed his eyes.

"I was just waiting for the right moment to strike, my boy," he said callously. "And now that I'm close to obtaining the ultimate power, I thought I would test it out on you and this guild. So, where's the retired Makarov? I'd very much like for him to watch as I destroy his precious children."

At the mention of his grandfather's name, and by the way that Ivan said it with such mocking distain, Laxus gritted his teeth and tensed his muscles. Yellow lightning static began to flicker around him, showing his anger building up from within.

"I'm the master of this guild now!" he declared. "If you want to destroy Fairy Tail, then you have to go through me! I beat you once before, and I'll do it again!"

Ivan's face spread into a dark grin.

"That was years ago. Time changes people, you know. And thanks to the power of your former Fire Dragon Slayer, my strength has increased tenfold."

Ivan then reached for five keys underneath his cloak.

"And thanks to that Celestial Wizard from Sabertooth, I have an army that can destroy you all!"

Everyone braced themselves as Ivan opened five more Celestial Gates.

* * *

 _Alu stared into the black void around her._

 _Where was she?_

 _She felt so small. Helpless._

 _This place. It's so dark. She couldn't see anything. She was blind, and unable to move._

 _And yet…she wasn't scared._

 _This place. It was so warm. Warm and comfortable. She felt safe here._

 _But…how did she get here? What was this place?_

* * *

"Alu!"

"Alu! Wake up!"

"Please wake up!"

Alu grimaced and winced as something shook her awake. She struggled to open her eyes, but her strength was almost completely gone. She felt like her body had been run over by a train. Still, she managed to bring her vision into focus and saw that Violet and Happy were standing right beside her. She gripped her head as it throbbed with pain.

"Violet? Happy?" Alu whispered, her voice weak and shaky. "What happened?"

"Don't you remember?" Violet asked. "Your…Your father…"

It was then that Alu realized that both Violet and Happy were crying. Happy was the worst of the two. He was sobbing out of control and tears were falling down his cheeks.

In a single moment of horrible clarity, Alu remembered what happened just before she fainted. Her eyes widened with horror and despair.

Just a few yards in front of her, lying motionless on his back, was her father. He was now ash pale, almost as if he really was dead. Of course, he would've been better off dead. But now he was just an empty shell; his soul stripped clean away from him.

Tears welled up in Alu's eyes. She struggled to hold back the whimpers that so desperately wanted to escape her throat. She began to tremble as she somehow found the strength to get to her feet. She then shakily limped over to Natsu's body. When she reached him, and looked down on his lifeless form, her spirit broke like a burning twig.

She fell to her knees.

"What have I done?" Alu whispered painfully. "What have I done?!"

Alu's shoulders trembled and her breathing staggered from the cries that wanted to get out of her mouth. Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore. Nor did she want to. She let her tears fall like they were unstoppable waterfalls and she fell over onto the Dragon Slayer.

She sobbed loudly and gripped her father's coat so tight that her knuckles turned white. His body, which was once warm with comfort and hope, was now cold and empty. She dug her face into his chest, like she used to do when she was a child had woken up from a bad dream.

Only this was a bad dream she couldn't wake up from. And Natsu's comforting arms didn't rise up to embrace her; to wrap around her and assure her she was safe. They remained at his sides like heavy stones.

"I'm sorry, Dad!" Alu cried. "I'm so, so sorry! This is…! This is all my fault!"

"It wasn't your fault, Alu." Violet whimpered. "Ivan did this to him. You can't blame yourself for this."

"Yes, I can!" Alu choked, her voice breaking in anguish. "Dad was only trying to protect me! It's all my fault! I jeopardized my family and all of Fairy Tail! How could I have been so selfish?! I should never have left home! If I never left, Dad…none of this would've happened to him! But he's gone and it's all my fault! I…I just wish…I could take it all back! I want my dad back! I don't care if I have to give up my Magic! I just want my dad back!"

Alu sobbed even harder. Sadness, guilt and regret twisted together inside of her to the point where it felt like unbearable physical pain. All she could think about was how badly she messed up. She put her own father in danger, all because she couldn't accept the fact that she was just a weak wizard. His soul was stolen away from him, all because he sacrificed himself to save her, even though she knew she should've been the one to have suffered that horrible fate instead.

"Please, forgive me, Dad!" Alu wailed, her voice consumed with despair. "I never wanted this! I'm so, so sorry! I…I don't know what to do!"

At that moment, one of her Celestial Keys began to glow. In a whirl of light and water droplets, Aquarius appeared in front of her. Her expression was one of sympathy and determination when she saw Alu in such emotional pain. She knew Alu would react this way.

Aquarius then changed her expression.

Aquarius then hovered over the Alu on the opposite side of Natsu and lowered herself down so that she was sitting.

"Get up, Alu." Aquarius said to the crying girl. "You still have work to do. You must stop Ivan."

"I can't!" Alu sobbed, still keeping her face buried in her father's jacket. "Ivan's too powerful! I can't take him on!"

"Yes, you can." Aquarius sounded more serious. "You never gave up before, so why should you start now?"

Alu clenched and sat up to look at Aquarius with a pained scowl.

"Are you blind, Aquarius?!" she wailed. "My dad's soul is gone and it's all because of me! I'm just a pathetic weakling of a wizard who can't even save the lives of those I care about! There's nothing I can do! How do you expect me to…?!"

Aquarius brought her hand up and slapped the young girl's cheek. Alu winced as the hit stung her cheek, but Aquarius didn't remove her hand from Alu's face. Instead, she kept it there and forced Alu to look her in the eyes. Alu's expression turned from pained to shocked. She then saw that Aquarius was looking at her, not with annoyance, or even contempt, but with some kind of honest conviction.

Violet and Happy both fell silent as they watched the scene before them. Both of them quivered and waited to see what Aquarius would do next.

"Stop your blubbering and listen to me, Alu." Aquarius said, her voice was strong and sincere. "Only you can defeat him. Because only YOU can open the Gate of the Dragon."

Alu held her breath as Aquarius continued.

"Did Ivan really think that just stealing the souls of a Celestial Wizard and Dragon Slayer would be enough to make him the Celestial Dragon Slayer? He's so consumed with hatred for Fairy Tail that he's become delusional. He even threw way his humanity just to get the power he has now. He can't open Draco's Gate even if he got his hands on his key. But you can. You have it in your soul. You always have since before you were born again."

"B-Born…again?" Alu said, her voice shaky.

"You thought all this time you were just some weakling?" Aquarius replied. "Well, I got news for you, you're not. Your powers are weak, yes. But there's a reason for that. Your soul is incomplete."

Alu's stomach clenched at that remark.

Her soul was incomplete? How was that possible? What was Aquarius trying to tell her?

"And this transformation you're going through," the Water Spirit continued, "it's not a Dragonification. It's proof of who you really are. It's the result of your soul returning to you."

"Aquarius, what are you talking about?" Alu said slowly. "What do you mean?"

"If you want to know the truth," Aquarius said, "then open the Gate and summon Draco."

Aquarius removed her hand from Alu's cheek. She reached into a pocket on the right side of her skirt and pulled something out. Alu's eyes widened and she caught her breath when she saw that it was another Celestial Key. But this one was different than any other key Alu had seen before. It wasn't silver or gold. It was pure diamond. It had a fiery motif to it, and Draco's symbol was engraved in emerald green on the hilt.

Alu was surprised. She had seen that key before in one of her visions. She remembered seeing it.

It was the exact same key.

"This is Draco's Key." Aquarius said firmly. "Take it, Alu. It's yours again. Hurry and open the Gate of the Dragon. You're the only one who can do it."

Alu stared at the key for a moment, unsure of what to do. Finally, she narrowed her eyes in determination and nodded. She then reached out and took hold of the Diamond Dragon Key. She looked down at her father's lifeless form, reminding herself that she had to do this for his sake. She was afraid of what might happen, but she had to do it.

Clutching onto the Dragon Key with both hands, Alu brought it close to her heart and inhaled deeply, mustering up all of the Celestial Magic she had. She had a feeling she was going to need every last bit of it for this one.

Then, holding the key high up in the air, she shouted, "OPEN! GATE OF THE DRAGON! DRACO!"

Alu waited with baited breath for something to happen. But to her dismay, nothing came from that command.

"OPEN! GATE OF THE DRAGON! DRACO!" she shouted again, even louder.

Still nothing. Panic and despair began to well up inside her chest at a horrifying degree.

"PLEASE!" she wailed, tears spilling from her eyes again. "OPEN! GATE OF THE DRAGON! DRACO!"

Still nothing.

Alu dropped her arm and began to sob once again. All the hope that she had gained just moments before had dropped like a sack of stones into her stomach and vanished completely. Aquarius just looked on with sadden confusion. Even she couldn't understand why the Gate wouldn't open. Happy and Violet both turned way to conceal the tears they were crying.

All hope was lost.

"Please," Alu whimpered, clutching the key tighter. "I just want to save my dad. Am I really so weak I can't even do that? Please…open the gate…Draco."

There was a long silence. A single tear fell from Alu's eye and splashed onto the diamond key. A second later, the key began to glow a faint but pure white light.

 ** _"Alu."_**

Alu jolted in shock and then froze. That voice. It was strong and radiant. She had never heard it before.

And yet…it was familiar. Very familiar.

 ** _"It's been a long time, my dear."_**

Alu snapped her head around for the source of the voice, but she just saw Aquarius, Happy and Violet, and Natsu's soulless form. There was no one else. But she knew she heard someone.

"That voice," she whispered.

Aquarius looked up.

"Alu?" she whispered.

 ** _"It warms my heart to know you're alive again. And to see how much you've grown."_**

"Draco?!" Alu cried out suddenly, looking around franticly. "Draco, is that you?! Where are you?! I need you!"

That got everyone else's attention. For them, they couldn't hear a voice. Alu just seemed to be calling out to no one.

"Alu?" Happy whined. "W-What's wrong with her?"

"There's no one else here." Violet said.

Aquarius narrowed her eyes in a kind of hopeful suspicion.

Alu wasn't paying attention to any of that though. Her focus was solely on the voice that only she could hear.

 ** _"Fear not, little one. Open my Gate with your combined Magic."_**

"Combined Magic?" Alu blinked.

Of course! Why didn't she think of it sooner? This was the DRAGON Key! Alu couldn't just use her Celestial Magic for this! She had to use her Dragon Slayer Magic, too!

She had never done this before, but if it meant saving her family, then she was going to take it. And this time, she knew that it would work.

With an eruption of willpower returning, Alu forcefully wiped the tears from her face and got to her feet. She then swiftly raised the Dragon Key high into the air once again. This time she summoned both her Celestial and Dragon Slayer Magic and forced them to collide together. With the clashing of two different powers at once, an aura of alternating aqua and orange began to shimmer around her.

But this process hurt worse than anything Alu had ever felt before. Both her Magic Powers were pulling towards each other, but also repelling against each other. As much as she tried to contain it, she couldn't hold back a cry of agony between gritted teeth.

But Alu fought through the pain. She could get through this. She was strong enough. This wasn't the time to be doubtful.

She was going to get through this.

A strange power began to slither down Alu's right arm, looking as if it entered her bloodstream. It was just like those other times when she got a boost of energy. Only this time there was much more of it, and it felt even stronger. The power raced down her arm with incredible speed and stopped for a moment in the center of her chest. It then branched off and continued to grow until Alu was one shining white image.

With that third power added, the two powers inside of Alu that had clashed against each other for so long, finally merged together with ease.

The Diamond Celestial Key flashed into a bright ball of starlight that began to swirl down, up and around Alu like a large, endless ribbon of stars. The force it gave off was so great that it sent both Happy and Violet flying through the air. Aquarius struggled to keep herself from being flung back, while also trying to keep Natsu from tumbling across the floor.

Alu keeled over and clutched her chest. Her heart was beating hard and fast. It beat so fast that Alu was starting to feel sick. She stared with wide eyes at the light swirling around her.

She couldn't scream. She couldn't even breathe.

Reality became a huge blur before fading into darkness.


	33. Chapter 33: Alu's Awakening

**Chapter 33**

 **Alu's Awakening**

 _Alu slowly opened her eyes and found herself standing in a starry-lit landscape. All around her were twinkling stars of so many different colors._

 _"Where am I?" Alu asked out loud, her voice echoing all around her._

 _"Inside your heart, of course."_

 _Alu jolted in shock when she heard that voice. It sounded exactly like hers. But that certainly wasn't an echo._

 _Alu turned around fast and gasped in surprised._

 _Standing in front of her was a young woman._

 _This woman was dressed in a strange outfit that consisted of a one-piece white skin-tight suit that reached up to her neck, and went down just past her thighs. Around her waist was a black, short, open skirt, and on her feet, were red ankle-high sandals. Around her eyes, as well as on her knees, arms, and on both sides of her torso, were patches of white dragon scales._

 _On each side of her outfit were openings, revealing her dragon scales. Covering her chest and abdomen was a large green breastplate that opened up in the back. On her lower arms and legs were blue and gold guards. Her long hair was emerald green, and she wore a lavender circlet around her head with Draco's symbol decorating the center of her forehead._

 _Her eyes were what caught Alu's attention the most. They were both cyan, and had the likeness of a Dragon._

 _"Who are you?" Alu said, confused._

 _The young woman smiled._

 _"You already know the answer to that," she said knowingly. "I've been with you since your birth into this life."_

 _Alu took in a sharp breath. This woman's voice was exactly like hers. And when Alu looked at her a little closer, she realized that she kind of looked like her, too. All Alu had to do was replace the green hair with sakura pink, and the cyan eyes with dark green, and she would be looking at an older, almost identical mirror image of herself._

 _But why? Who was this person?_

 _"What are you talking about?" Alu asked, her tone bordering on annoyance. "And what do you mean by "born into this life"?"_

 _"Well, I could tell you that," the woman said. "But I think it'll be more rewarding if you figure that out for yourself. I will, however, give you some clues."_

 _The woman turned to her right and swiped her hand in a graceful fashion. Alu watched with wide eyes as an image began to appear before her._

 _When it came into focus, Alu found herself staring an image of a little girl snuggled up against a large lizard-like creature._

 _Alu gasped. That little girl looked just like her._

 _The girl was dressed in a ragged and torn dress, and she was barefoot. Her spiky pink hair was caked with dirt, and her pale skin had some scratches and bruises on it._

 _And yet, she slept happily against the giant creature._

 _That creature was a Dragon. Alu didn't need to be told that._

 _The Dragon was as black as the night sky, but the assorted star-white scales and silvery circle in the center of its forehead gave it a more radiant appearance. Its body was strong and sleek. It clearly showed that it possessed both great strength and power. But its golden eyes were soft and gentle. It looked at the little girl with warmth and love as she slept soundly._

 _"That's…Draco." Alu said with certainty._

 _"That's right," the woman beside her nodded. "He took in a human girl who had lost her family, and raised her as if she was his own daughter."_

 _Alu looked at the young woman._

 _"That was you, wasn't it?" Alu said slowly. "Aquarius told me that Draco took in a young girl after she lost her family to another Dragon."_

 _The woman nodded._

 _"You're half-right," she said. "That is me. Draco took me in. He raised me and protected me. He told me stories of the Celestial World, and each and every day, we searched for a way to get him back home. He even inadvertently gave me his Magic. The power of a Dragon."_

 _The image changed. Draco had crashed to the ground, and the little pink-haired girl ran over to hold on to him. Both Draco and the girl were bleeding from cuts. The girl moved her injured arm over one of Draco's wounds. His white blood trickled down her hand and into a cut on lower arm._

 _"We were attacked by another Dragon," the woman explained, "and we were both injured. I begged for Draco to stay with us, and his blood entered my veins, and mixed with my blood. That's when I got my Magic. The Magic that would later become known as Dragon Slayer Magic."_

 _"Draco taught you how to use this Magic." Alu said, sounding less surprised than before. "He taught you how to use and control it."_

 _The image changed again. Alu watched the scene inside of it as the young woman spoke._

 _"But one night, after seven years in Earth Land, Draco started to disappear. He almost died. But I called out to the Celestial World, and it answered me. A gate to that world appeared. Draco and I opened it by combining our Magic together, and by using a diamond crystal as a conductor for channeling our Magic. That crystal took on the form of a key. And Celestial Magic was born."_

 _"After that, I went with Draco to the Celestial World, where I met the other Celestial Spirits. I thought I could live there with them happily for the rest of my life. But Earth Land called back to me."_

 _Alu turned to her right and saw another scene appear. It was a small village that was alit with fire. Dragons flew all around it, blowing out fire from their mouths and attacking the people running for their lives._

 _"Dragons terrorized Earth Land back then," the woman said. "I couldn't turn a blind eye to that. Through my Celestial Magic, The Celestial Spirits and I forged the Zodiac Keys. With the Zodiac at my side, I traveled to Earth Land to combat the Dragons and save all mankind."_

 _Alu blinked as she found herself staring at another image. The person in it looked exactly like the woman standing beside her. She looked bold, confident, and serious. In her right hands, she carried Draco's Key._

 _"Of course, we made allies with some Dragons. With Draco's help, we rallied some to help us protect Earth Land."_

 _The more the woman talked, the more Alu's expression began to change. None of the images she was seeing surprised her anymore. It was like she was expecting them to appear now. She remained silent as the woman beside her continued, and the images continued to appear._

 _"And later, others from a neighboring country arrived to help us. Among them was Irene and her Dragon friend, Belserion. With Irene's Enchantment Magic, she created many other Dragon Slayers. During that time, I met two comrades. One was Agnar, a brave young man who became a Dragon Slayer, and a powerful one. The other was Anna Heartfilia. I trained her to become a Celestial Wizard, and she became the greatest there ever was, even surpassing me."_

 _Alu blinked as she stared into the image of a young man and woman. The man had long, unkempt blue hair, piercing eyes that were intensified by the black rings around them, and blue tattoos that were in wavy patters on his arms and face. Although he was a serious person by nature, he did smile a bit to show that he wasn't heartless._

 _The woman was tall and had beautiful blonde hair. Her light brown eyes were full of wisdom and kindness, but also courage._

 _In fact, Alu would say that she looked just like her mother, Lucy._

 _Then the images changed again. Revealing something horrific._

 _"But then it happened," the woman said downheartedly. "The Enchantment Magic cast on the Dragon Slayers turned them into the very creatures they feared. It drove them to madness, and ended up destroying them. We watched with horror and despair as it happened. We were unable to do anything for them. Except…put them out of their misery. While many Dragon Slayers died by the hands of executioners, the ones who fully transformed into Dragons either died by our hands, or by the hands of other Dragon Slayers who hadn't been corrupted yet."_

 _The woman's expression changed to heartbroken._

 _"Sadly, Agnar was one of the unfortunate ones. Worse than that, he lost his humanity when became a Dragon. He became the very creature he hated, and it drove him to insanity. To the point where he wanted to destroy the world that he felt had betrayed him. He even tried to kill us."_

 _Alu's eyes welled up with tears as the image showed Agnar in a fit of rage. Then, with a howl of pain, his body began to morph into a giant Dragon. Wings sprouted from his back, his hands and feet became claws, and his teeth sharpened into fangs. The form he took was a Dragon that was black as moonless night, and covered with blue wavy patterns._

 _Seeing that made Alu want to cry. Her heart wrenched, making her chest ache. For some reason, she felt like she had just lost someone very dear to her._

 _"We were the only one that never underwent the Dragonification," the woman continued. "Nor were we in any danger of it. Draco's blood flowed through our veins, and embedded itself into the very fabric of our soul, giving us power and protecting us from that horrible fate. Our power came from him, not by some Dragon Seed. And because of that power, we could enter Dragon Force at will, and summon multiple Spirits at once. But the Dragon Force was the closest we could get to becoming a Dragon. We never ran the risk of becoming one._

 _"And despite all the pain and loss we suffered; from losing our family, our clan, and even watching those we loved fall to darkness and despair, we kept fighting on. We hung on to what we were, and remembered what we were fighting. The Celestial Spirits that had become out family helped us through. They gave us strength and support, as did Anna. We didn't give up hope. Even when we were forced to fight Agnar to the death. And yet, we couldn't bring ourselves to kill him."_

 _Alu grimaced._

 _"All we could do was seal him away in Mount Zonia with a powerful Spell. An Imprisoning Spell that would last for four hundred years. But that came with a price. It cost us our life. By all accounts, we should be dead. But we're not. We didn't die that day."_

 _Alu then froze and looked up with surprise. She looked at the strange woman beside her. It was only now that she realized that the woman started using the word "we" when she was talking about her past. It was like she was including Alu into her statements._

 _"What are you talking about?" she asked. "And what do you mean "we"?"_

 _The young woman turned towards Alu and smiled._

 _"Our life was saved at the last minute, by Anna and our Celestial Spirits," she said. "I remember the last moments of our consciousness in that life. Just before death had claimed us, a Spell was cast on us."_

 _"What Spell?"_

 _The young woman looked at Alu for a second. She then waved her hand gracefully across the starry landscape. Alu stepped back as another image appeared before her._

 _She saw herself. Or rather, she saw an older version of herself. She was covered with bruises and cuts from head to toe, and unconscious on a rocky ground. A bloody rag for a bandage was slowly slipping off of her left eye._

 _By the looks of it, this look-alike of Alu was very close to death. Probably just seconds away from it._

 _Standing around her in a circle were all of the Celestial Spirits of the Zodiac and Anna. The Zodiac Spirits looked different from the way Alu was used to seeing them. They looked like ancient warriors from the far past. And each of them_ _wore armor that looked like it was made out of silver and gold. Each set consisted of a headpiece, a chest-plate, arm and leg guards, and shoulder plates. And each of their armor had their Zodiac insignia on them._

 _Draco was also among them, standing behind Anna._

 _Then everyone began to glow. Their Magic flowed down to Alu's lifeless form, engulfing her in its light._

 _Anna then raised her arms and began to chant;_

 _"O life that cannot be saved in this time,_

 _Whose body has been weathered_

 _With this strength we grant you,_

 _Separate and rest,_

 _Restore your body and soul,_

 _Be given life anew,_

 _Through the destined bonds of love,_

 _And awaken once again!"_

 _The light surrounding the older Alu's body grew even brighter._

 _At the same time, Alu felt a horrible pain in her chest. She winced and clutched it, almost keeling over from the sudden shock. But she forced herself to keep watching the image before her._

 _With a sudden burst, the light around older Alu's body disappeared. Only now, her body was gone. In its place were two glow orbs. One was radiant red, and other brilliant blue._

 _It was then that Draco reached his hand over towards the orbs._

 _"Divide again," he commanded in a clear voice. "To ensure your chance to be born anew, I will hold your power and memories. They shall rest with me, until you have awakened. Seek me out in the future, and take hold of the Key when you gain the power and strength to do so."_

 _The two orbs of light shivered for a moment. Then, streams of white began to rise up out of them towards Draco's Dragon hand. Once they had gathered together, Draco gently held another orb. It glowed a pure, silvery white light._

 _The image then faded, leaving Alu dazed by what she saw._

 _"So…that's what happened?" she whispered._

 _"Yes," the woman said. "Our soul was divided. The two parts of it that Draco left behind traveled through time and space. They were separated for a long time, until the ones destined by fate to meet formed their bond of love. Then, on July 7_ _th_ _, of the year X796, we were born again."_

 _"July 7_ _th_ _." Alu gasped. "Wait…that's my birthday!"_

 _It was then that Alu heard the sounds of a baby crying. It made her straighten herself up and caught her breath. She slowly turned around and saw another image._

 _But this one was different. It wasn't dark and grim like the other ones had been._

 _Alu eyes widened in surprise, and realization._

 _It was some kind of hospital room. And in that hospital room, Alu saw her mother and father._

 _"Mom. Dad."_

 _Her mother was lying in a bed, propped up by a big white pillow. Alu's father was sitting on the edge of the bed. Both of them smiling with happiness._

 _Alu then saw herself as a baby. She was wrapped in a sky-blue blanket, and cradled in her mother's arms._

 _She was the reason for their happiness._

 _Looking at all this moment, it suddenly became clear to Alu._

 _"So that's it." Alu said. "This was the day you…no, we were reborn."_

 _"That's right," the woman said. "The you that exist in this time, is the same as the one who existed in the past. And that person was me."_

 _Alu turned and looked at the woman beside her._

 _"I know who you are," she said, "because I know who I am now. I am you, you are me. We are the same person. The same soul, born in two different times."_

 _The woman smiled. She then reached out her hand._

 _"We are…"_

 _Alu reached back and took the woman's hand._

 _Together, they said,_

 ** _"Alu Dragneel."_**

 _The woman then began to fade into white Magic vapor. The wisps of her existence flowed into Alu, giving her strength and power._

 _Alu closed her eyes and accepted the gift that was being granted to her. She felt the pulse of the stars in her veins. This power that had been separated from her for so long rejoined with her fragmented soul, making it complete and whole once again. It flowed through her, restoring her._

 _Down at her feet, a white light flowed out. It rapidly spread throughout the world around her, giving it life. The darkness that had grown inside her heart finally disappeared, allowing the light that had always been there to shine brighter than before._

 _As the last piece of her soul entered her, a deep familiar voice spoke to her._

 _"You've awakened at last, my dear Alu."_

 _Alu opened her eyes. She looked up and saw a mighty Dragon standing right in front of her. A Dragon as black as the night sky, but as radiant as the moon and stars._

 _Alu smiled and tears of joy gathered in her eyes._

 _"Draco."_

 _The Dragon nodded and lowered his head down to the girl's level. Alu reached out and cupped the tip of his snout with both hands. She pressed her forehead against it and let some of her tears fall._

 _"Welcome home, Alu." Draco said, his voice full of kindness and joy._

 _The two shared the moment of reunion for a what seemed to be like forever. After four hundred years of waiting, they got see each other again._

 _After the moment had passed, Alu leaned back and looked Draco in the eyes._

 _"I have watched over you from a distance." Draco said. "I know what has happened to you father. You know you're the only one who can save him, and all of your family."_

 _Alu nodded._

 _"So, are you ready?" the mighty Dragon asked._

 _"Yes." Alu replied confidently. "Let's go."_

 _Once again, Alu was wrapped up in a stream of white light._

 _At long last, Alu knew who she was. And what she had to do._


	34. Chapter 34: Return

**AUTHOR'S NOTE, PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE CONTINUING  
** **I usually don't do this, but for those who had read this story already, I have gone back and added Makarov back into the universe. He had supposedly died when I started rewriting this back a few months back, but now that he's actually alive, I've added him back in. So, when he pops up in this chapter, that's why.**

 **I did this because I'm such a stickler with keeping this story as close to the Fairy Tail continuity as possible, however flawed it might be.**

 **Just wanted to let you know that. Sorry for the confusion.**

 **On with the story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 34**

 **Return**

 _At Magnolia…_

The fight between the Fairy Tail wizards and Ivan and his Spirits raged on. All combat wizards were fighting the Neo Spirits with all the Magic they could muster. The other wizards not suited for fighting were working to evacuate the citizens from Magnolia before the fight extended beyond just the guildhall.

By the way things were going, that was most likely about to happen. As they fought on, it became clear how different the balance in power was.

The Neo Zodiac Spirits were strong. Stronger than any of the Fairy Tail wizards could've anticipated. Even just one was enough to bring two wizards to their knees.

Worst of all, none of them seemed to be getting tired. While the Fairy Tail Wizards were starting to run out of energy. The best that they could do was tag-team with other members, and pray that help would arrive soon.

"You Neo Zodiacs are starting to get on my nerves!" Gajeel scowled viciously at Neo Sagittarius.

"We are hardly fake." Neo Sagittarius replied stoically. "We are superior versions of the first Zodiac Spirits."

"Superior versions my ass!" Gajeel glared. "You're just overpowered copycats!"

"Yet it is clear that our strength outclasses yours by many miles."

That only agitated Gajeel even more.

Meanwhile, all three Strauss siblings were fighting off against the Neo versions of Virgo and Aries. Even with Mirajane in her most powerful Satan Soul Form, the family was struggling just to land a blow on the two Dark Spirits. Both Neo Virgo and Aries used their whip and chain to attack from a distance. At one point, Elfman got so angered that he tried to rush in and take out Neo Virgo with just brute force. He was so focused on her that he didn't notice Aries whip her chain out and grab his wrist. Before he knew what was happening, Neo Aries was spinning him around with unbelievable strength like a cowgirl with a lasso.

Mirajane and Lisanna attempted to move in to stop her, but the crazy ram Spirit threw Elfman straight at them. He hit the both of them like a cannonball. All three of them were slammed the ground with such force they left an indentation.

Erza and Wendy teamed up in an attempt to take out Neo Ophiuchus. Despite the fight being two against one, Neo Ophiuchus seemed to have the upper hand in the fight. She evaded all of Erza's sword attacks with little to no effect, even when Wendy enchanted Erza's abilities.

Laxus teamed up with Loke to help him defeat the lion Spirit's doppelganger. They attacked Neo Leo with all the power they had, but their efforts had no effect. Worse than that, the more they threw their Magic at him, the weaker they were becoming. Even their most powerful attacks were doing no damage. On the other hand, Neo Leo seemed to be increasing in strength.

"What's going on?!" Laxus said, exhausted. "How can he still be standing?!"

"Something's up with his Magic!" Loke replied, in the same condition. "It feels almost like when Natsu devours fire to regain strength!"

"Of course, it does!" Neo Leo said with a wicked smile. "My Dark Regulus absorbed all the Magic power you used against me! Now, I can use it against you!"

Neo Leo moved so quickly that neither Laxus or Loke could respond in time. Before they knew what was happening, a powerful, black light hit them with so much force they were sent flying backwards.

Meanwhile, Lucy was fighting with all the strength she had. Despite all the dread, grief, and pain she was feeling, she fought on, letting all those feelings fuel her.

Ivan took away her family, and she was going to get revenge for it.

As she thought of that, her eyes caught the movement of a dark figure moving swiftly towards the guildhall.

It was Ivan!

Then, to Lucy's horror, Ivan let out a Fire Dragon Roar!

The guildhall was immediately set ablaze!

Lucy's blood ran cold. Time stopped around her as she watched the fire consume the very building she had come to call home. It was the same for all of the Fairy Tail wizards. All of them froze in shock when they saw the disaster happen before them. The only thing that snapped them out of it was when the Neo Zodiac advanced on them again.

It was then that Lucy quickly realized something!

Makarov was _still_ inside the guild!

Lucy didn't stop to think. She immediately transformed into her Aquarius Star Dress, made a dash for the guildhall, and jumped in through one of the broken windows. She coughed and choked as smoke and ash rose up in her face. She quickly made a water shield and looked around the room.

"MAKAROV!" she shouted.

Lucy then heard the sounds of an old man coughing. Looked over on the far side of the guild and saw the former Master on the floor. His wheel chair had tipped over, and he couldn't get up. Lucy ran over to him and got down on her knees.

"Makarov!"

"L-Lucy?" Makarov groaned, his voice weak and frail from the smoke. "What are you…?"

"Just hang on!" Lucy said. "I'll get you out!"

Lucy hoisted Makarov onto her back. As soon as she took her first step, a crackling noise came from above. She snapped her head up and saw the wooden braces on the ceiling were beginning to snap and crumble from the fire. Lucy set out in a dead sprint for the open doors as the roof began to cave in behind her.

In a last-ditch effort, Lucy leapt out of the doors just as the guildhall collapsed behind her. She stumbled a bit as she tried to regain her balance, but she ended up tripping and falling, letting go of Makarov in the process.

"So, he really was too stubborn to leave the guildhall," a dark voice said. "I had a feeling that would draw him out."

Lucy looked up and saw Ivan standing just a few feet away from her.

"I just didn't expect you of all people to bring him out of a burning building," Ivan said callously. "And here I thought your pathetic daughter got her recklessness from her father, but she must've gotten some of it from you, too. Not that it matters now that she's dead."

Lucy scowled so hard that tears brimmed her eyes.

"Thanks for saving me the trouble, Celestial Wizard," Ivan said. "I'll reward you by saving you the agony of watching your friends fall."

"Don't you dare, Ivan!" Makarov shouted, his voice raspy.

Ivan looked over at Makarov with an evil, taunting grin.

"Watch closely, little troll," he said. "You're about to see your whole guild about to be wiped out. Starting with this beauty."

Ivan raised his fist, and a blaze of fire ignited around it. Lucy clenched at the sight of it. It was painful to see her husband's fire in the hands of this monster of a man.

"Consider yourself fortunate," Ivan said. "Not only will you not see your friends die, but you'll be sent into the afterlife by your dear husband's fire."

Ivan moved in to strike. Lucy shut her eyes and waited for the end to come.

Suddenly, a jet stream of white fire shot down from the sky!

Ivan stopped in mid-lunge as the white flames cut him off from his target. Lucy opened her eyes, and gasped in surprise.

One right after another, streams of dazzling white fire came down from the night sky, cutting off the Neo Zodiac from their targets. It was so intense that they couldn't pass through it. Even Neo Leo's armor was not enough to block the heat. When he tried, the fire melted his gauntlet and burned his skin, making him howl in pain.

All of the Fairy Tail wizards stopped and stared, their eyes wide with shock.

"What's going on?!"

"I don't know!"

"Where'd that fire come from?!"

"It's so hot! It feels like my skin's going to melt!"

"Wait?! Does this mean Natsu's back?!"

"That can't be! Ivan has his soul!"

"Then who's fire is this?!"

While everyone was confused and dumbfounded, Loke's face changed into revelation.

"I know this power!" he said. "No doubt about it! It's him! He's back!"

"Who?!" Laxus asked.

Loke's eyes were filled with hope now, "Wait, then that means…!"

The Lion Spirit looked down at the starfire on the edge of the lake. At that moment, a silhouette of a person appeared among the flames.

Everyone watched as the silhouette became clearer, moving gracefully and powerfully through the inferno. The white fire whipped around the person, ruffling their hair and cloths, but it did not burn them.

Then, the person emerged from the fire.

A girl with one piercing cyan-Dragon eye, Dragon scales on her face and left arm, and pink hair with a large streak of emerald green in it. She was covered with dried blood, scratches, and bruises, her clothes were torn and dirty, but she stood tall with determination.

Around her waist was Natsu's scarf.

As soon as the Fairy Tail wizards saw her, a wave of surprise and joy came over them.

They knew who this person was.

"It's Alu!" Lisanna shouted with glee. "She's back!"

* * *

Alu looked past all of her companions and guild mates. Her eyes were locked onto Ivan. Ivan stared back at Alu with anger and bewilderment, while she scowled deeper with resentment and vengeance.

"Impossible?!" Ivan shouted. "How times do I have to kill you?!"

"You don't want to fight with me now, Ivan!" Alu warned, her voice full of conviction and power. "I'm not the same person you fought back in Mount Zonia! Now, I'm only going to tell you once! Give me back my dad and Yukino's souls, and you won't get hurt!"

"Ha!" Ivan spat. "You think I'll give up the ultimate power to a runt like you!"

Alu shook her head and groaned.

"Geez, Aquarius was right!" she said. "You really are so power-hungry you're stupid!"

"What'd you say?!" Ivan snarled viciously.

"You think just stealing souls would make you into a Celestial Dragon Slayer?!" Alu went on. "How you ever thought that inscription in Mount Zonia was a Spell is beyond me! You're no real Dragon Slayer! You're no real Celestial Wizard! You're just a leech who can't summon a single Spirit! You had to make your own Spirits that are just empty husks! You can't summon Draco! Only the real Celestial Dragon Slayer can do that!"

"Oh, and you think YOU can!" Ivan mocked. "You're just a weakling! You were born weak! You couldn't summon something as powerful as a Dragon!"

"Wanna bet?!" Alu turned her head up to the sky and shouted, "Draco, come forth!"

Just then, a mighty creature came soaring down from the night sky. An enormous Dragon, the color of obsidian, and with scales that shone and glittered like the stars and moon. With a flap of its mighty wings, the Dragon landed in the lake behind Alu, causing a wall of water to splash up around its feet. It let out a thunderous roar that shook both the sky and earth.

The Fairy Tail wizards and Neo Zodiac were so surprised by this that none of them could move. All except for Lucy, who barely managed to get to her feet. She stared at her daughter as tears formed in her eyes. She was relieved and happy to see Alu was alive, but she was also stunned by her return.

And the arrival of the Dragon.

Then, something struck her. A tale her late mother had told her a long time ago. One about a Spirit Dragon that was rumored to have powers that rivaled the Celestial Spirit King. A Dragon whose key had been lost to time.

"Wait, this Dragon!" Lucy breathed. "Could he really be-!"

"Draco!" Loke shouted. "It is you!"

The Spirit Dragon only glanced at Loke for a moment to acknowledge him before turning his attention back to the situation at hand.

Ivan stared up at Draco, his face painted with bafflement and disgust. He looked back at Alu.

"You can't possibly have summoned that Dragon!" he raged. "You're just a weak little whelp!"

"She speaks the truth, foolish wizard!" Draco said, his voice strong and commanding, making everyone shudder. "What you found in Mount Zonia was not a Spell, it was a Prophecy! The power that you have is just stolen Magic!"

As Draco spoke, Alu closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. At that moment, everyone began to feel a strong pressure. She began to glow a strange light, and her cloths and hair swayed as if they were being affect by a gust of wind that only touched her.

"But the Prophecy has been fulfilled in this young woman!" Draco declared. "Her soul is alit with starfire, and the blood of a Dragon Slayer and Celestial Wizard flows through her veins!"

Alu's eyes snapped open, and the light around her glowed brighter. A wave of intense Magic Power emanated from her, making everyone step back defensively.

"What's going on?!"

"Alu's doing this?!"

"I've never felt this kind of Magic from her before!"

Ivan was unable to speak. Seeing the little Fairy Tail wizard releasing so much Magic Power, and have large Drago behind her, was enough to make him nervous. He couldn't deny the powerful aura surrounding Alu. Nor could he mistake her look of conviction. None of it was for show.

Something had changed in her.

Alu opened her mouth. All of the surrounding starfire, along with the fire burning away the guildhall, flew straight past her comrades, and straight to her. She devoured all of it one large slurp. Her aura intensified, and a shine of confidence came into her eyes.

"You listen up, Ivan! Instead of hiding behind your shields, you better come and fight me face-to-face! Because I want you to take a good look at the power you tried to steal! I'm Alu Layla Dragneel! Daughter of Natsu and Lucy Dragneel! Wizard of Fairy Tail! And the Celestial Dragon Slayer reborn! I'm all fired up, and I'm ready to show you my true power!"

With a battle cry, Alu sprinted towards Ivan, ready for the fight that was to come.


End file.
